The Death of Kichirat

Wahbert has a client named fondly known as Kichirat. Random Boss no. 52 caused the death of Kichirat yesterday......

Kichirat is a Japanese national and the head of legal of a multinational corporation. Random Boss no. 52 ("RB52") was handling an assignment for the MNC and was taking his own sweet time about it. By the end of the third week and still not having gotten a response, Kichirat sent RB52 an email seeking his reply immediately.

Now RB52's favourite delay tactic is to zoom in on one small issue and spin it round and round until you have a problem the size of the second World War, and as if things were not bad enough, he will tell you that it is a reputational risk. It seems words like "reputational risk" "compliance" and "good governance" are very sexy terms in the industry at present. Luckily for RB52, he got his break on about the third page of the document (it only took him 5 minutes!), where Kichirat had made a tiny mistake.

The first thing RB52 did was call every lawyer involved in the transaction to sit in on the call, muttering to himself all the time and looking very grave indeed. Then he called Kichirat and told Kichirat that in all his career he had not seen something like that, and that if someone were to have an issue with it what would Kichirat say to the court? Would Kichirat have an answer? Was Kichirat trying to hide something? Is Kichirat not the leader of this exercise? What would happen to Kichirat and the MNC if it were discovered that the MNC is doing this? Was Kichirat prepared to bring the MNC into disrepute?

All this time Wahbert sat there picturing the headlines in the Japan Times - Top Legal Exec of MNC Committed Harakiri. Body found at desk. Last saw on the phone with Malaysian counsel.