University of Illinois College of Law

About

Professor Kozo Yabe is a partner of Midosuji LPC Tokyo Office in Japan as an attorney-at-law and a patent attorney. Midosuji LPC is a top-notch Japanese business law firm originally from Osaka to combine three major offices in Osaka, Tokyo and Hiroshima. He joined Midosuji LPC in January 2022 after his 30 years practice of intellectual property and international business transactions at YUASA & HARA as a multidisciplinary law firm between law, IP and accounting.

Professor Yabe holds an LLB (1985) from Chuo University in Tokyo and an LLM (1994) from the University of Illinois College of Law. He was admitted to Japan Bar after his two-year legal apprenticeship of the Legal Training & Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.

At Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association, he is vice chair of the Law School Committee and the International Committee. He was a former Chair of the Intellectual Property Center of Japan Federation of Bar Associations, a senior board member of AIPPI (International Association of Intellectual Property Protection) Japan and a board member of the Japan Trademark Association.

He is the main instructor for the Doing Business in Japan course with other co-instructors, Glenn Newman (JD ’90) of Newman Law Office.