Profile

Manaj Jyakhwo is an advocate licensed in Nepal with extensive experience across corporate and commercial law, commercial contracts, foreign direct investment, cross-border transactions, regulatory compliance, commercial disputes, construction law, intellectual property, and labour and employment law.

He received his B.A.LL.B. degree from Tribhuvan University in 2016 and, in 2017, passed the advocate licensing examination administered by the Nepal Bar Council and obtained an Advocate License in Nepal. While continuing to engage in legal practice, he pursued further academic study and, in 2019, completed an LL.M. at Tribhuvan University with a specialization in Constitutional Law and Commercial Law.

Since qualifying as an advocate, he has developed substantial experience in legal matters arising from corporate and commercial activities. His practice has included day-to-day corporate legal advice, the drafting and review of commercial agreements, investments by foreign companies into Nepal, regulatory matters relating to foreign direct investment, cross-border transactions, filings and applications before governmental and other regulatory authorities, corporate compliance, commercial disputes, and litigation.

His experience also extends beyond general corporate work to construction law, intellectual property law, and labour and employment law. Through matters in which commercial transactions, regulation, contractual arrangements, and dispute resolution intersect, he has developed a practical approach that seeks not only legally sound answers, but solutions that also reflect a client's business objectives and commercial realities.

In 2020, he established Sovereign Office of Law and became involved in the management of his own legal practice. That experience reinforced his conviction that effective legal advice requires more than the identification of legal rules: it requires an understanding of the client's business, management decisions, operational priorities, and commercial objectives, together with the ability to translate legal analysis into solutions that can be implemented in practice.

Alongside his private-sector practice, from September 2021 to September 2025 he served for four years as an Expert Legal Consultant to the Labour and Employment Office, Teku, Kathmandu, under the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Government of Nepal. Through this role, he addressed labour and employment issues not only from the perspective of businesses and private clients, but also from the perspective of a governmental body responsible for the administration and enforcement of labour-related laws and policy. This experience provided him with practical insight into the interaction between commercial activity, employment regulation, and public administration.

In 2022, he became a member of the Nepal Council of Arbitration (NEPCA), further developing his knowledge of arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution in addition to court litigation. In 2024, he joined LAWASIA (The Law Association for Asia and the Pacific), broadening his engagement with legal practice and professional exchange across the Asia-Pacific region.

Throughout his career, he has consistently placed equal importance on professional expertise and the relationship of trust between lawyer and client. His years of corporate practice have led him to believe that the highest quality of legal service depends not only on legal knowledge and experience, but also on a genuine understanding of the client's business, values, circumstances, and long-term objectives.

He also regards law not merely as a system of restrictions on commercial activity, but as an essential framework for the sustainable development of society and the economy. Governments establish the legal framework within which responsible business activity can flourish, while businesses contribute to society through investment, employment, taxation, and economic activity. In this relationship, he believes that corporate lawyers have an important role as a bridge between public legal frameworks and private enterprise.

Accordingly, his approach to corporate legal practice is to assist clients in complying with applicable laws and regulations while enabling them to pursue their legitimate commercial potential. At the same time, he considers it an important responsibility of corporate counsel to understand the legal and policy difficulties that businesses encounter in practice and to help guide those issues toward workable solutions. He seeks, through his professional practice, to contribute to a legal environment in which commercial development and the broader public interest can be reconciled.

Relocating to Japan and taking on a new professional challenge was a carefully considered decision in light of his career to date. In 2026, he joined SAKURA Law Office, where he draws on the experience he developed in Nepal in corporate law, foreign investment, cross-border transactions, commercial disputes, labour and employment matters, and related fields while expanding his practice in a more international and multidisciplinary environment.

At SAKURA Law Office, he aims to contribute his experience to cross-border matters involving Nepal and other parts of South Asia, while further developing his knowledge and experience in M&A, startup and venture legal affairs, international transactions, web and digital matters, entertainment, and show business.

His professional objective is not to confine his work to a single jurisdiction, but to develop as a legal professional capable of understanding and bridging different legal systems, business practices, and cultural contexts. By combining his corporate and governmental experience in Nepal with sophisticated corporate and international legal practice in Japan, he seeks to support businesses operating between Japan and Nepal, as well as across Asia more broadly.

As a member of SAKURA Law Office, he is committed to contributing the experience he has accumulated to the Firm and its clients, continuing to develop his expertise across jurisdictions and practice areas, and providing high-quality legal services as a trusted legal professional.