Ambitious Japanese scammers are passing themselves off as the Tokyo branch of Baker & McKenzie.

Bakers, by headcount the largest firm in the world, already has an associated office in Tokyo. But now, like Norton Rose Fulbright before it, con artists have given it the honour of a knock-off website.

great work Guys

The homepage of baker mckenzies Japan features an English language introduction which claims, "We are a professional group of problem solving, including the law" (sic).

baker mckenzies Japan, it says, uses, "concrete examples on familiar worries that such a variety of legal issues" (sic).

In many respects, the fake site does not enhance the Bakers brand. The "elaw", "law in context", "BakerNet" and "ourpeople" sections are all blank, while headlines in the News section such as "ChambersGlobalLawFirmIP" and "Baker McKenzie earns top spot for emerging markets", lead nowhere. But the "ecommerce" section is a different matter. Full of useful advice, it is set out like a Dear Deidre column and, as befits a law firm of Baker & McKenzie's stature, the Japanese team are experts on a broad range of topics. Like baseball, for example:



Other queries are more legal in nature and receive answers which could almost be genuine, like the one from Compliance Advisor Mikami which begins, "First of all we will talk about sewer contributions". Elsewhere, RollOnFriday's translating skills were defeated. Either that, or someone needs to have a quiet word with Takahashi in the Consulting Department, who advises a woman worried about pharmaceutical packaging, "The mother of the question bidder has been purchased, what 'Placenta'?"

Clients interested in the baker mckenzies Japan service should submit their problems quickly. A spokeswoman for Baker & McKenzie said, "Thanks RoF. Our IP lawyers are looking into this".