Contract Review & Drafting
Knowing what you are agreeing to, before you agree
Commercial agreements, service terms, lease documents, non-disclosure arrangements. Reviewed before signature or prepared from the outset, with a written plain-language summary included.
What this delivers
A clear picture of your obligations and your options
After a contract review with Ishibashi, you will know exactly what the document commits you to, which clauses depart from common practice, and where you have room to negotiate before signing. That is a different position from signing on trust alone.
For drafting, the same clarity applies in the other direction: a document prepared here sets out what each party has actually agreed, in language that holds up under scrutiny and is readable by both sides.
Understand your obligations fully
A plain-language summary accompanies every review, so you hold both the marked document and an account of what it means in practice.
Identify unusual or one-sided clauses
Clauses that depart from standard practice are identified and explained, so you know where to focus your attention before any negotiation.
One round of revisions included
After you have considered the review, one round of revisions based on your comments is included in the fee. No additional charge for that stage.
The difficulty
Contracts arrive at moments when you are already committed in other ways
A lease is presented after you have found the premises you want. A supply agreement follows months of commercial negotiation. A service contract arrives the week before a project starts. By the time the document appears, the decision to proceed has often already been made in practical terms, and reading a dense legal text carefully feels like the last obstacle rather than the first protection.
This is precisely when the terms matter most. What looks like a standard clause can determine liability for years. A missing provision can leave an important matter entirely unresolved. Without someone to read alongside you — and explain what is actually there — it is difficult to know what you are accepting.
Small and medium companies without in-house counsel face this regularly. Founders, directors, and business owners are expected to sign documents that lawyers at the other party have spent considerable time preparing. The imbalance is not unusual, and it is not something that careful reading alone fully addresses.
The question is not whether to get legal support — it is whether to get it before or after a problem arises. A review at the outset costs a fraction of what disputes over unclear terms later require.
The approach
Review that works alongside the document, not instead of it
The work here does not replace your judgment — it gives you the information to exercise it properly. The document is read in full, set against what the applicable law requires, and compared to what agreements of this type ordinarily contain.
Supply and service agreements
Commercial supply terms, ongoing service arrangements, project agreements, and maintenance contracts. Obligations, liability caps, termination rights and payment terms examined in full.
Non-disclosure arrangements
Mutual and one-way confidentiality agreements. Scope of what is covered, duration, permitted disclosures, and consequences of breach set out plainly.
Lease terms
Commercial and residential lease agreements examined before signature. Rent review mechanisms, repair obligations, break clauses and renewal terms assessed against standard practice.
Working together
How the process works in practice
First
Send the document
Forward the agreement and a short note about the context — what it covers, who the other party is, and what you are uncertain about.
Second
Scope and fee confirmed
The scope is confirmed and the fee stated in writing before any work begins. For most contract reviews, this is straightforward and quick.
Third
Review completed
The document is reviewed and returned with annotations, alongside a separate written summary of the material terms and anything that departs from usual practice.
Fourth
Your revisions addressed
After you have considered the review, one round of revisions based on your comments is handled within the same fee. You decide how to proceed from there.
Typical turnaround: five working days for a standard document review. Drafting from the outset takes longer — discussed and confirmed before work begins.
Investment
What the fee covers
The fee for contract review and drafting is fixed and confirmed before work begins. There is no open-ended billing where the scope is clear.
Contract review
¥34,000
Fixed fee per document, confirmed before work begins
- Full document read and annotated
- Written plain-language summary of material terms
- Identification of clauses that depart from usual practice
- One round of revisions after your comments
- Available in English or Japanese
Drafting from the outset
Quoted
Fixed fee agreed in writing before work begins
- Document prepared to reflect what has been agreed
- Obligations set out in plain summary alongside the drafted text
- Covers supply, service, distribution, NDA and lease documents
- One round of revisions after client comments
- Suited to companies without in-house counsel
How it works
A method that returns useful information at the right stage
Scope
The review covers every material provision: payment, term, termination, liability, intellectual property, confidentiality, and dispute resolution. Nothing is skimmed in the interest of speed.
Comparison
Each clause is set against what agreements of this type in Japan ordinarily contain. Departures are flagged — not as automatic problems, but as points requiring a conscious decision.
Delivery
The annotated document and written summary are delivered within the agreed timeframe. Typically five working days for a review. Longer where the document is unusually complex or drafting is required from the outset.
Commitment
What you can expect from this engagement
The fee is fixed and stated before work begins. The scope is agreed in writing. If the work falls outside what was discussed — a document significantly longer or more complex than described — that is raised with you before proceeding, not reflected in an invoice afterwards.
If a matter falls outside the areas covered here, that is said clearly, and where possible a referral is suggested. The aim is to be useful, not to extend engagements beyond what is warranted.
Get in touchNo open-ended billing
Where the scope is defined, the fee is fixed and confirmed in writing before anything begins.
Plain language throughout
The written summary is not a legal document. It is a readable account of what the agreement does, intended to be shared and referred to again.
Bilingual service
Documents can be received and reviewed in Japanese, with explanation provided in English — or in the reverse direction, according to what is most useful.
How to begin
A straightforward path from question to answer
Step one
Write with a brief description
A few sentences about the document and what you are uncertain about is enough. No need to describe the entire situation at this stage.
Step two
Receive scope and fee
A response confirms whether the matter falls within the areas handled here and sets out what the work would involve and what it would cost, in writing.
Step three
Decide at your own pace
There is no obligation to proceed. If the scope and fee suit you, the engagement begins when you confirm. If not, you are no worse off for having asked.
+81 42-723-5641 · info@domain.com · 〒194-0013 Tokyo, Machida City, Haramachida, 4-2-17
Contract Review & Drafting
Send us the document before you sign
Describe the agreement briefly and we will confirm whether this falls within our areas and what a review would involve. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.
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