Kei and Mako Komuro, the couple who “restructured 16 people at their firm,” rely on “two unexpected” people in the adversarial New York legal industry.
A dark cloud is already gathering over Ms. Kei Komuro, who has started her career as an attorney in the state of New York.
In March, Lowenstein Sandler, the Manhattan, NY law firm where Ms. Komuro works, restructured its staff by 16 people. It is a society of competence, and Mr. Komuro is competing with the best of the best in the U.S.
In order to protect his life with Mako, he must maintain a high income, and he definitely does not want to be restructured. Therefore, it is said that he is making full use of his own personal connections to “insure” himself against the worst-case scenario.
On March 1, just prior to the restructuring by his firm, Mr. Komuro had just officially started practicing as a lawyer. The dismissal of Mr. Komuro at such an early stage of his career has caused a great deal of anxiety.
Apparently, a trend of layoffs is currently taking place at law firms in New York State, and some firms have laid off more than 100 staff members, depending on the size of the firm.
Even if you have the “most powerful title” as the husband of a former member of the royal family, if you don’t have the ability, you will be fired. Basically, the office evaluates the performance of the staff members by the achievement of their quotas.
If you fail to meet your quota, your contract will be terminated. In Japan, the act of using the royal family is criticized, but overseas, it is commonplace to do business using the names and titles of royal families and royalty. Mako will have to use her status and connections to achieve her quota, and she will have to work hard to get by.
Although Ms. Komuro has thrown herself into the fiercely competitive world, she has some reassuring allies in the U.S. “The Japanese American Association of the State of New York has offered her a job.
I heard that there is almost no support for Mr. and Mrs. Komuro from the Japanese American Association of the State of New York. Instead, there is a woman in her 70s in the U.S. named Ms. T., who inspired Mr. Komuro to become an international lawyer.
She originally had an office in Los Angeles, but has now moved to Boston. In fact, the firm Okuno & Associates in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, where Mr. Komuro used to work in Japan, was introduced to him by Ms. T.,” said a reporter in charge of the Imperial Household.
When Mr. Komuro was in his third year of college and studying abroad at the University of California, Los Angeles, he met Ms. T. and was deeply impressed. Since then, the two have continued to communicate.
Mr. T became especially fond of Mr. Komuro because he was a graduate of the same “International Christian University” as Mr. Komuro. As well as helping him find employment, he was a daily advisor to Mr. Komuro during his time at Fordham University School of Law, where he studied for three years immediately after his engagement to Mako was postponed.
He was also acquainted with Mako, and they had such a close relationship that he could refer to her as “she’s the fat one. She still supports the couple to this day,” said a person related to the Japanese American community in the U.S.
There is also a rumor that there is another supporter who uses his “connections in the royal family. ……
It is reported that Mr. Komuro is trying to contact Mr. Yukihisa Ikeda, the husband of Masako’s younger sister, Reiko, who is currently an international lawyer in New York. Mr. Ikeda is a well-known lawyer who has been repeatedly named in the “Lawyers Chosen by Corporations” ranking. For Mr. Komuro, there is no one more reassuring as an attorney for the State of New York.
Masako is a relative of Mr. Komuro, and there is a good chance that Mr. Komuro will approach Mr. Ikeda and try to rely on him, using his title as “husband of a former member of the royal family. In order to maintain his life with Mako in New York, Mr. Komuro cannot afford to be complacent,” said a source close to the Japanese American community in the United States.
Relying on their few but strong allies, the Komuro couple seems to be pushing forward through adversity.
PHOTO: Shinji Hasuo