My career didn’t start as a lawyer. What inspired me to become a lawyer?

Could you tell us in detail about your career before joining Zeals?

After graduating from law school, I started working as a PM and writer at a design and advertising-related company, where I worked as a freelance student from the age of 20.

I was responsible for managing budgets and schedules as a PM, and for writing as a writer, handling a wide range of tasks including contract negotiations and contract reviews.
Although it was a small company with less than 15 people, we had achievements such as winning a gold award at one of the world's three major advertising festivals, and I enjoyed being involved in various interesting projects.

On the other hand, I also felt a sense of "dissatisfaction".

What kind of “dissatisfaction” did you feel?

While I was in university, I spent busy yet enjoyable days juggling my studies and freelance work.
However, after graduating, I began to feel a “dissatisfaction” when my focus shifted solely to work.

At the same time, I felt a lack of ability within the scope of tasks I could handle.
Even though I was involved in internal legal affairs due to my law school graduation, there were times when major issues arose and the other party would bring in a lawyer, which made me feel very frustrated that I couldn't keep up.
That’s when I thought, “If there are things that only a lawyer can do, then I want to become a lawyer.”

What incredible vitality! It’s a seriously tough road to become a lawyer, isn’t it?

When I decided to take the bar exam, I found that the day I decided to look into it was actually the last day to apply online for the aptitude test needed to enter law school.
I felt this was fate and resolved to take the exam!

After that, I successfully passed the law school entrance exam. Just like during my student days, I continued to work while attending graduate school, and I was able to pass the bar exam on my first attempt.

Since there was a focus on study during the one year of judicial apprenticeship, I left the company where I was taken care of for about six years at that time.

Starting my career as a lawyer. The challenges I faced as an external lawyer.

What kind of work did you do after becoming a lawyer?

I joined the "Hibiya Park Law Office."

It was a corporate legal office primarily serving companies rather than individuals, with publicly-listed companies as the main clients.
I was able to gain various experiences as a lawyer in an environment that included contract negotiations, contract drafting, legal advice, M&A support, crisis management, guidance for shareholder meetings, and litigation worth 10 billion yen.

It sounds like you had diverse experiences, but did you feel any challenges?

Of course, becoming a lawyer increased the experiences I could gain, but in my first company, as a project manager, I could see the overall picture of projects. In the position of an external lawyer, I often dealt with client inquiries like, “Please tell me about this issue,” handling things in pieces, which made me feel “dissatisfied” again because I couldn’t see the overall situation or final outcome of the cases I was involved in.

Furthermore, I wanted to work in a position where I could see the internal process of decision-making in management, where I could fully engage in working for trustworthy managers and companies with relatable business models, so I aspired to be involved in business from a different position as an “in-house lawyer.”

To be involved from the inside of the company, I became an in-house lawyer.

Did you have any criteria for the companies you aspired to join as an in-house lawyer?

Firstly, it had to be a startup.
I thought that even if I worked in the legal department of a large company within a big pyramid, I might end up just dealing with the given tasks in fragments without seeing the decision-making process. On the other hand, in a startup, I expected to be closer to the management team, and the barriers between sections would not be high, allowing me to be involved in a variety of things while observing various sections.

Additionally, I had a strong desire to be in a fast-growing business environment where everyone is running towards a goal.
I wanted to grow with a sense of speed myself, and I wanted to be involved in the process of creating new services, products, and values rather than in a mature company.

As a lawyer, I also find it more rewarding to work on new problems that do not have existing answers.

How did you come to know about Zeals?

I was conducting job hunting for startups and meeting with headhunters for my job search, but I hadn’t encountered a company that I genuinely wanted to run alongside.

During that time, a trusted lawyer senior introduced me to a recruiter.
This person was Mr. Kanasaka, who is currently involved as a management advisor at Zeals, and he became the person who connected me to Zeals.

Mr. Kanasaka introduced me to several companies, but he insisted that Zeals was his top recommendation.

If Mr. Kanasaka said that, I felt there must be potential for growth in the company, but when I looked at Zeals' homepage, the first thing that jumped out at me was the phrase “Raise Japan Up (the vision proposed by Zeals).”

I found the concept of the chatbot service intriguing, but since the average age was young, I honestly felt some anxiety that it might be just a company with momentum behind the “raise up” vision (laughs).

Did your initial anxiety about Zeals change?

After having a meeting with CEO Shimizu, my impression changed dramatically.

He said, “To grow Zeals, I feel that we need defensive legal services.
Additionally, as a company leading the industry, I want to work on not only our own company but also the healthy development of the industry.” This gave me a solid sense of reassurance from the legal perspective.

I believe that the ease of legal performance is greatly influenced by the mindset of the management team.
If the management thinks, “I don’t care about risks; it’s enough to just have a lawyer,” the legal team cannot perform effectively.

In that context, Shimizu had the mindset of “We have prioritized growth until now, but moving forward, with an eye toward going public, we want to provide clean services as a leading company in the industry.” This made me feel that I could work with CEO Shimizu with peace of mind.

What was the deciding factor in choosing to join Zeals among so many companies?

The deciding factors were, first, being attracted to CEO Shimizu’s character; second, being able to envision myself working at Zeals; and third, feeling a sense of growth potential in the business.

First and foremost, I was drawn to CEO Shimizu’s human qualities. He doesn’t think it’s enough for just his company to grow, but rather has a passionate desire for how to improve the industry and Japan as a whole.

Additionally, instead of telling me to stop being aggressive, CEO Shimizu asked me to set up the necessary systems to continue aggressiveness, which aligned perfectly with the image of an in-house lawyer I had envisioned. During our interview, we not only had a lively discussion but also engaged in conversations about specific service improvements, making me feel that I could contribute a lot to Zeals and have an image of running alongside.

Regarding the third point about growth potential, while listening to the incredible speed of business growth from CEO Shimizu and COO Endo and the exciting future prospects, I felt that this company could truly become one that raises Japan up, and I wanted to realize that growth together.

The mission of Zeals as the industry leader

Zeals is a leading company in the chatbot industry, but chatbots are still a relatively new service, and the same goes for “customer service DX” that Zeals is trying to tackle.
Zeals has started various initiatives to provide services that clients and consumers can use with greater peace of mind, such as establishing an advertising review system, but I believe that leading the healthy development of the entire industry as a company at the forefront is Zeals’ mission.

Thank you very much!

With the addition of an in-house lawyer who “defends and promotes,” Zeals is experiencing rapid growth with a stronger business foundation.
Zeals is waiting for applications from companions who want to promote together!