Tokyo Bar Association

Finance,Facilities and Welfare

As an independent autonomous organization, Toben's activities are financed principally by membership dues, admission fees and other service fees collected from member lawyers and, to a certain extent, by public and private contributions.

Toben owns a 17-story building called the Bar Associations Building (Bengoshi Kaikan), jointly with Nichibenren and the other two Tokyo local bar associations in a section of Kasumigaseki adjacent to the central government office square. The building was completed in 1995, mainly with contributions from the member lawyers of Nichibenren and the three Tokyo local bar associations. There is an auditorium which accommodates about 1,000 people, 16 large and 6 small conference rooms, and a library with a computerized retrieval system. The library is one of the largest law libraries in Japan, having more than 70,000 volumes of law books and periodicals.

Toben offers a medical insurance plan to member lawyers and their families, in association with the Government's National Health Insurance Program, through the Lawyers National Health Insurance Association of Tokyo, an affiliated organization. Another affiliate, the Lawyers Cooperative Association of Tokyo, offers member lawyers financial and other economic facilities, including loans, pension insurance and professional liability insurance, by means of introduction to or intermediation with banks and insurance companies.