On the Professional Activities of the Labor and Social Security Attorney (sharōshi) and Competition within the Legal Profession in Japan

Abstract

The labor and social security attorney, shakai hoken rōmushi/社会保険労務士, or abbreviated “sharōshi”/社労士, is a certified limited legal professional who is qualified to complete application documents for social and labor insurance and to offer consultation on labor-law-related matters. Sharōshi play an important role for corporate labor and social security compliance, especially in small to medium-sized enterprises in Japan. Our research group, which is formed of five academic members and is financially supported by the Japan Federation of Labor and Social Security Attorneys’ Associations, conducted a nationwide survey on the daily work of sharōshi’ and on their required skills, talents, credentials and attitude toward their work. The survey was conducted by means of a web questionnaire system from June 1 to August 16 in 2015. Our working hypothesis is that, based on the evolution of their field of practice, sharōshi have come to compete significantly with full legal professionals (bengoshi) and have thereby altered the legal service market. In considering this hypothesis, this paper highlights some of the results of the survey on sharōshi, comparing their situation with that of bengoshi and discussing the competition between the two professions.