Disrupting legal in Japan: How Daryl Osuch built change

When Daryl Osuch moved to Japan in 2018 for a three-month intensive business course, he didn’t expect to still be living there in 2025 – much less heading up JERA’s first legal ops team.

Trading a traditional US legal career for life in Tokyo was disruptive in itself – stepping into a new country, a new language and a completely different business culture. Even small things stood out:

“The permeation of LinkedIn in Japanese business society is pretty low compared to other countries. They’re still powered by face-to-face meetings and exchanging business cards in a very specific way.”

It didn’t take long for Daryl to realize he was going to need a much bigger stack of business cards.

But disruption didn’t stop there. Setting up the company’s first legal ops team meant rethinking how legal was viewed, and what value legal could offer. This challenge was complicated by the legal function’s authority in many Japanese companies.
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What business and legal looks like in Japan

Daryl’s move to Japan was supposed to be temporary, but while there, opportunities came up that blended his passion for law, technology and Japan itself that he couldn’t pass up.

“I ended up at EY Japan in their forensics investigation support, and now I’m at JERA where I head up the first legal ops team, one of the few in Japan for a large corporation.”

Working in a new business, country and legal environment revealed unique cultural differences for Daryl – he quickly realized that if he wanted to disrupt and get ahead, it would require a steadier and more sustained process.

“The difference in Japanese business culture is very distinctive, and when you’re supporting big international clients, you have to be very cognizant of the hierarchy and what you say and when.”

Over time, Daryl learned how to disrupt in a way that worked for both him and the cultural differences around him. He grouped this into three principles.
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Three key lessons for success

1. Building relationships and capital

In Japan no one wants to be the first mover. Making change isn’t about pushing harder or faster – it’s about laying groundwork. This is where Daryl introduces the idea of “capital”.

“It takes a bit more time than the equivalent change would take in a Western business. You have to build capital, you can’t just come in during your first year and break down all the doors, it isn’t going to work that way out here.”

By “capital”, Daryl means the credibility and trust built through consistent delivery, relationship-building and respect for hierarchy. Capital is built conversation by conversation, win by win, over time. Without that capital, even the best tool or most innovative process could struggle to gain traction; with it, legal teams like Daryl’s earn the permission to try new things.
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2. Building PR

The second takeaway from Daryl’s journey is the value of PR. For him, PR isn’t about spin or exaggeration, it’s about making sure your successes don’t go unnoticed.

“You have to do the good thing, do it well, and don’t fall into the assumption that everyone saw it. Don’t assume that everyone realizes just how much time you saved, you’re going to have to repackage that and replay it.”

In practice, this means retelling success stories, highlighting outcomes and communicating them to different stakeholders in different ways, even if they’re only sitting a few desks away. For Daryl, this effort has paid off and has sparked interest across the business.

“We’ve had people in other departments come to us and say, ‘I heard you’re doing this thing, I heard you’re playing with workflow automation, can you tell us about it?’”

The lesson is simple – don’t assume your impact always speaks for itself. Tell the story of your work, why it matters and what it achieved.
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3. Building numbers into your business case

Daryl’s final takeaway is about connecting your work to measurable outcomes – it might sound simple, but numbers are what really resonate with stakeholders.

“Have some reasonable estimates for how much time each step takes, and how much of that time you could save. Once you’ve got that, it’s a quick leap to show that if we spend this money on a tool, we’re buying back that time.”

Daryl advises to map workflows, showing how long each step takes, and then the estimated time saved if you had the tech or headcount you’re asking for. Even if the estimates aren’t perfect, attaching numbers to your work gives you influence, builds your credibility and makes your business case harder to ignore.
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From blank slate to automation wins

Having laid the groundwork by building relationships, creating positive PR and supporting initiatives with numbers, Daryl was able to move from strategy into execution. At JERA, Daryl’s team has had an opportunity to experiment with legal technology, tools and to prove value in ways that have drawn attention inside and outside the business.

One of their biggest successes has come from embracing automation. “We’re a Microsoft Office business, and Power Automate and Power Apps are in heavy rotation,” Daryl explains. These tools have been put to work across “innumerable workflows” with some delivering “pretty substantial wins” inside the company.

But Daryl’s priority, and success, is making sure humans stay in the loop at critical points across these processes. He gives his team the space to experiment, adapt and ultimately make the technology work for the business. They often take a step back to assess what they’re trying to achieve and ensuring technology is delivering the outcome they first envisaged.
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Daryl’s roadmap to disruption

Daryl’s journey shows that disruption doesn’t always mean “moving fast and breaking things” steady, thoughtful change can be just as powerful. Here are Daryl’s top lessons to take away:

• Build relationships and capital. Don’t expect to walk in and change everything immediately. Success often comes from taking the time to build trust, credibility and political “capital”.
• Share your wins. Never assume people notice the efficiencies you’re creating. Invest in positive PR inside your company so everyone can see the value you’re adding.
• Put numbers behind everything. Whatever you’re justifying, link your work to measurable outcomes – that’s what resonates with decision-makers.
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To learn even more from Daryl’s lessons and his route to success, follow his thoughts on LinkedIn and tune into his podcast ‘The Legal Ops Podcast’ where he discusses the exciting changes within legal operations alongside a wide range of interesting guests from all over the globe.

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