Alien Lawyers in the United States and Japan—A Comparative Study

The steadily increasing economic and social contacts between Japan and the United States are illustrative of a development which has brought lawyers and laymen of all countries face to face with the need for more adequate, and accurate, information about the laws of all countries. Since the lawyer is the fount to which the informed layman turns for legal advice, it would seem quite natural for such a layman, faced with a problem involving foreign law, either to seek advice from his own attorney, or to turn to an alien admitted to the bar of the country, the laws of which are involved. It is the purpose of this paper, as an illustration of present and as a suggestion for future treatment, to examine and discuss the availability of the alien lawyer to such a client. Common sense would indicate that a properly licensed resident alien lawyer would be the most direct, effective, and satisfactory source of such information and advice.