Becoming CEO of an international organisation is probably not on young lawyer’s minds as they graduate from law school and find their first law job. Mitsuru Claire Chino shares with us her path from working in a law firm to General Counsel to CEO. She has some absolute nuggets of wisdom that you won’t want to miss on how she sees that anyone can be their best, and it might surprise you some of the people she looks up to!

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In this episode you’ll hear:

• How Claire came to be in the law and dealing with challenges in her early years as an associate were
• Why Claire chose to leave private practice to work  in house despite leaving behind a high salary and  glamor
• Mentors and sponsors who helped Claire to leverage her skills as a lawyer and how to find  your own mentors and sponsors
• What to look for when applying for General Counsel positions
• Why lawyers make great CEOs
• The magical things that happen when brilliant minds come together across disciplines
• Her favourite books and other fun facts

About Claire

Claire is Managing Executive Officer of ITOCHU Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company headquartered in Japan, and President & CEO of ITOCHU International Inc., a subsidiary of ITOCHU  in New York, overseeing North America. Before assuming her position in New York, he was General Counsel of  ITOCHU, and prior to that, a partner with an international law firm.

In 2013, Claire became the first female executive officer of any major trading company in Japan. Claire has received several recognitions, including from the World Economic Forum (Young Global Leader), Yale University (Yale World Fellow), Asia Society (Asia 21) and the U.S. Japan Foundation (USJLP Fellow).

Claire has also been recognized in the legal community as a “Top 25 In-House Counsel in Asia” (Asia Legal Business), “Asia Pacific’s Innovative Lawyer” (Financial Times), and “FT Global General Counsel 30” (Financial Times), and has received a “Transformative Leader” award (Inside Counsel). In 2018, the California Lawyers Association recognized her as the 8th Annual Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year.

Most recently, she became the recipient of the Smith Medal from Smith College. She is a graduate of Smith College (B.A. cum laude) and Cornell Law School (J.D.), where she serves on the advisory board. She is a classically trained singer and gives solo performances from time to time.

Connect with Claire

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitsuru-claire-chino-10ba6930/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fitochuinternational%2F

Links

On Borrowed Time by Graham Hall https://www.amazon.co.jp/Borrowed-Time-Graeme-Hall/dp/1527271374

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair