Spotlight on Ben Jolley

You recently returned to HSF after having spent more than 5 years working within the legal department of a leading Japanese heavy industry company. How does the time you spent working in-house inform your approach to private practice at HSF?

The short answer is significantly! Seriously though, I think the experience has given me a client-centric mindset which I might not have developed otherwise until much later in my career. It means that I have a good understanding of both how Japanese clients like to receive their legal advice and also what goes on behind the scenes.

For example, often the most effective way of delivering advice to Japanese clients will be to present it in person or over a call rather than just producing a lengthy written note. In my experience, anything delivered in writing should be succinct and easily digestible, particularly where the client is operating in their second language.

Having seen how internal decision-making processes work, I now also understand the workstreams and requirements that exist within most Japanese companies. This insight, such as knowing that there might be a long approval process for an arbitrator appointment, or that one aspect of the strategy will require further explanation to or approval from internal stakeholders, means that I can plan accordingly and provide the relevant information needed at the right time to assist the client.  

What does your caseload generally look like?

What sorts of disputes are you seeing at the moment?

I'd say that a common theme of disputes for Japanese clients, which also reflects a global trend, is post M&A disputes and joint venture disputes relating to energy transition projects. For example, particularly for wind and hydrogen projects, I have come across disputes relating to funding and the general economics of these projects. There have also been many claims relating to new technologies and defects claims when things have gone wrong. I suspect that these sorts of claims will continue while the technology is still new and evolving!

An amended Arbitration Act came into force in Japan in 2024, making several changes. What is the arbitration landscape like in Japan and what is the impact of the amended Act?

There is a lot of support for arbitration in Japan and a vibrant domestic community. Indeed, last November, the first Japan International Arbitration Week took place, supported by the government. The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association has also recently restructured its board in order to be more international facing.  I think that Japan is keen to become a focal point for arbitration in Asia, having witnessed its prominence in other Asian cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and more recently Seoul.

The Amended Act is definitely a step in the right direction – indeed one key provision is that parties are now generally permitted to file court proceedings for enforcement without a Japanese translation of the award if it was rendered in English.  This development could extend even further, and I believe a key next step would be for the Japanese judiciary to deal with international arbitration-related cases in English, to avoid language issues for foreign parties and to encourage more arbitrations to be seated here. The Amended Act also gives the Japanese courts the power to enforce interim measures, bringing Japan in line with other jurisdictions and designates the Tokyo and Osaka district courts has having jurisdiction over arbitration-related court cases. Previously, parties had to commence proceedings in the local court where the Japanese counterparty was based. This development should mean that judges in the Tokyo and Osaka courts will build up good experience of arbitration matters, which will in turn ensure that arbitration-related judgments are of good quality.

What has been your career highlight so far?

A couple of things! The first is returning to HSF as a partner from the in-house role. In particular, I have been thrilled to have received so much support from my previous employer, even though they were obviously sad to see me go.

The second is a win that we secured for a Japanese client following a large 2-week arbitration hearing in Singapore. Sharing the success with clients and colleagues made all the late nights and time spent away from home worth it! It also helped that the tribunal found in our favour on almost every point and resulted in our client receiving an award in the client's favour to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars – which was quickly paid!

What do you do when you are not resolving disputes?

I have a five-year-old son who is absolutely obsessed with Japanese trains. We spend most weekends going to train stations, watching trains from level crossings, riding trains, playing with model trains or going to train museums, only to be quizzed about trains afterwards!