Carmen Garcia

When FN asked Carmen what was rewarding about her job she had her answer ready: “Simply put it’s the ability to help people who’re in trouble. That’s why we learn law.” Carmen arrived in Fukuoka to do her Masters in International Economic Law at Kyushu University, and has since embarked on Doctorate study in Maritime Law, in hopes of reforming the law concerning marine oil pollution. In the meantime she volunteers her time at the Otsuka law firm, handling cases in English and her native Spanish while other lawyers work in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian. Carmen has also developed Otsuka’s website, so that internationals can get advice in all six languages about their first steps in the event of a dispute. “Foreigners here can feel lost,” says Carmen, “and when they have legal problems they often can’t cope”. She and the Otsuka team have stepped in to provide assistance to internationals in everything from traffic accidents to labor cases. www.otsukalaw.com

 

 

 

 

弁護士という職のやりがいは何かと尋ねると「一言でいえば、困っている人の手助けをできる力を持っている、ということかな。だから私は法律を学んでいるんだもの。」とすっぱり答えるカルメン。九州大学で国際経済法の修士号を取得するために来福した彼女は、現在、石油による海上汚染に関する法改正をすべく、海事法博士号課程で勉強を重ねている。また、同時にインターンとして務める大塚法律事務所では、英・西・日・中・韓・露の６カ国語で対応するwebサイトから入ってくる様々な問い合わせや相談に、英語やスペイン語で答えたり、アドバイスをしている。「福岡にいる外国人たちは喪失感を抱いているみたい。法律関係の問題が起きると、もうお手上げなの。」と彼女は言う。同事務所では、なす術を知らない外国人や困っている人の手助けをする活動をはじめており、対応範囲は交通事故から労働問題、訴訟まで多岐にわたる。法的な助けを必要とする外国人に教えたいwebサイトはこちらから。www.otsukalaw.com

 

 

 

 

When FN asked Carmen what was rewarding about her job she had her answer ready: “Simply put it’s the ability to help people who’re in trouble. That’s why we learn law.” Carmen arrived in Fukuoka to do her Masters in International Economic Law at Kyushu University, and has since embarked on Doctorate study in Maritime Law, in hopes of reforming the law concerning marine oil pollution. In the meantime she volunteers her time at the Otsuka law firm, handling cases in English and her native Spanish while other lawyers work in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian. Carmen has also developed Otsuka’s website, so that internationals can get advice in all six languages about their first steps in the event of a dispute. “Foreigners here can feel lost,” says Carmen, “and when they have legal problems they often can’t cope”. She and the Otsuka team have stepped in to provide assistance to internationals in everything from traffic accidents to labor cases. www.otsukalaw.com

 

 

 

 

When FN asked Carmen what was rewarding about her job she had her answer ready: “Simply put it’s the ability to help people who’re in trouble. That’s why we learn law.” Carmen arrived in Fukuoka to do her Masters in International Economic Law at Kyushu University, and has since embarked on Doctorate study in Maritime Law, in hopes of reforming the law concerning marine oil pollution. In the meantime she volunteers her time at the Otsuka law firm, handling cases in English and her native Spanish while other lawyers work in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian. Carmen has also developed Otsuka’s website, so that internationals can get advice in all six languages about their first steps in the event of a dispute. “Foreigners here can feel lost,” says Carmen, “and when they have legal problems they often can’t cope”. She and the Otsuka team have stepped in to provide assistance to internationals in everything from traffic accidents to labor cases. www.otsukalaw.com