Japan qualified or foreign qualified lawyer? Yui Ota-Barclay shares her experience

Becoming a “Bengoshi” (Japan qualified lawyer), did not suit Yui Ota-Barclay so she took a chance to become a foreign qualified lawyer instead. In this episode, Yui shares her unique path to becoming an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright based in Tokyo. This is another diverse story of how things can work out for you even though it might not be on that 5 year plan you had in mind. 

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Yui viewed being different and a minority in the US as a positive thing 

Why showing your vulnerabilities is truly important for all people to enable us to flourish 

How Yui is helping to make a change to a diverse and inclusive future in the area where she lives

Yui’s hot tips on food and travel 

Her favourite podcast, book and other fun facts 


About Yui
Yui Ota-Barclay is an Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright based in Tokyo. Yui is a transactions lawyer admitted in New York. She specialises in Asset finance with a focus on the shipping and energy sectors.
Yui was raised in Yokohama, Japan, and spent one year in Colorado, U.S. as an exchange student during high school.  She graduated from Keio University (Bachelor of Laws) in Tokyo in 2012 and thereafter obtained a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 2013.  
After completing an internship with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Office of International Affairs, where she focused on international collaboration for consumer protection matters, she joined the Tokyo office of Norton Rose Fulbright in 2014.  
She then worked in the London office for one and a half years and was involved in transactions with clients based in the U.K. and Europe before returning to the Tokyo office in 2021.  
Yui is a strong advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It’s her passion. She leads, and has been actively engaged in, the Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at Norton Rose Fulbright, both in Tokyo and across the global platform.  Yui is a member of the Gender Equality Committee of Kanagawa Prefecture, which aims to guide local government policy on gender related issues. Yui also joined the executive committee of Women in Law Japan as a volunteer in 2023.
A fun fact about Yui is that she is a keen runner and in 2022, she ran a total of 1,015km  - that’s the equivalent of 24 marathons!

Connect with Yui
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuiotabarclay/ 

Links
Barny Akasaka: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130801/13218865/ 
Yui’s articles:
I am somebody’s wife https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/about/re/stringers/in-tokyo-la-and-cape-town-issue-20
What it is to be a Japanese woman: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/about/re/the-essay/what-it-is-to-be-a-woman-issue-21 
Way of Life https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-au/about/re/way-of-life/yui-ota-in-japan-issue-14
The guide – Tokyo culture https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/about/re/the-guide/tokyo-culture-issue-11 
Where to eat [in Tokyo] through morning noon and night https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/about/re/eating-out/in-tokyo-and-yokahama-issue-19 
Ladies who London Podcast: https://www.ladieswholondon.com/ 
Women and Family in Contemporary Japan book: https://www.amazon.co.jp/Women-Family-Contemporary-Japan-Holloway/dp/0521180376 

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