Barnes & Thornburg Partner Michael C. Zogby Featured in Law.com Articles on Representing Japanese Companies in U.S. Litigation

Michael C. Zogby, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s New Jersey office, co-chair of the Trial and Global Disputes practice and member of the firm’s Management Committee, was featured in two Law.com articles published on Sept. 2, 2026, “Kon’nichiwa: U.S. Lawyers Are Gaining a Foothold in Japan,” and “Rude Awakening: ‘Invasive’ US Legal System Shocks Japanese GCs, Execs – Who Law Firms Increasingly Court.”

In interviews with ALM global editors, Zogby discussed his experience representing Japanese pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies in complex litigation, mass torts, eDiscovery and products liability matters, and how Barnes & Thornburg’s Japanese Services team bridges the cultural and procedural differences between the two legal systems.

Barnes & Thornburg has worked with more than 400 Japanese clients in the past 40 years and has built a strong Japanese Services practice without an office in Japana. The firm’s Japanese Services team includes native speakers and professionals with deep experience in the cultural dimensions of representing Japanese companies, including Kazumi Iino, head of Japanese Client Services, and others who hold leadership roles in organizations such as the Japanese Chambers of Commerce of Chicago and the Japan-America Society of Indiana.

Zogby described the firm’s “Discovery 101” training program, which walks Japanese clients through the U.S. litigation system, including preservation obligations, eDiscovery, privacy, and cybersecurity-related issues.

“You are not just explaining a legal obligation,” Zogby said. “You are translating an entire legal framework into cultural and linguistic terms for people who have never encountered anything like it.”

“Japanese clients expect an order from a court requiring collections or a production,” he added. “What they encounter are far-reaching requests from an adverse party that could staggering in scope and timing.”

Zogby credited the firm’s collaborative approach to Japanese client services as a key differentiator. “Invest in relationship before legal strategy,” Zogby said. “In cross-border litigation, cultural fluency and trust are prerequisites.”

“It’s an art form to work with the Japanese clients, and having people like Kazumi and the other native speakers and non-native speakers to be able to partner up with those of us who have worked with Japanese clients for decades,” Zogby continued. “It really is a good basis for foundational success.”

On Sept. 30, Zogby will be in Japan to moderate a session entitled “Road to BioJapan 2026: U.S.-Japan Life Sciences Funding, Regulatory & Market Access Strategies” for the city of Yokohama.