Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Yoshihiro Takatori has joined the firm as a partner and chair of its Japan-based litigation practice. He brings with him a team of lawyers and professionals, including of counsel Shinsuke Yakura.
With a market-leading reputation for both Japanese and cross-border commercial litigation, Mr. Takatori and Mr. Yakura have built a unique practice in Japan among international law firms that encompasses complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and international arbitration. Their practice includes high-stakes commercial disputes, product liability, intellectual property, pharmaceutical and antitrust law.
Mr. Takatori has successfully tried and won several high-profile commercial cases for both Japanese and international clients. His most pioneering work involves representing pharmaceutical companies in cases relating to HIV-contaminated blood products. He also has made Japanese judicial history, obtaining landmark judgments on several multi-jurisdictional IP and antitrust cases. Additionally, Mr. Takatori has advised clients on cross-border compliance issues concerning asbestos-related products and is an active speaker on the topic both in and outside Japan.
Mr. Yakura’s practice focuses on IP, product liability, antitrust, medical, pharmaceutical and other commercial disputes. He has represented both Japanese and international companies in patent infringement litigation involving a wide-range of technologies including pharmaceuticals, computer software, electronic devices and industrial machinery. Mr. Yakura also counsels clients on antitrust and competition matters, as well as transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions and licensing.
“Takatori and Yakura are very well respected bengoshi lawyers who have successfully litigated and won various multi-jurisdictional cases for both Japanese and non-Japanese clients,” said Walter Brown, Managing Partner of Orrick’s Litigation Division. “They have built an unparalleled reputation within the Japanese business and legal community and their addition will enhance Orrick’s pan-Asian litigation and dispute resolution capabilities.”
Mr. Takatori and Mr. Yakura join Orrick’s Tokyo office which consists of more than 30 bengoshi and foreign qualified lawyers.
“We have seen a big increase in the amount of Japanese and cross-border litigation among Orrick’s Japanese and non-Japanese clients in the last few years,” said Mark Weeks, Managing Partner of Orrick’s Tokyo Office. “Our firm represents many of the world’s leading companies and the addition of Takatori and Yakura is part of our strategy to build a Japan-based litigation practice in Tokyo.”
“Orrick’s strong reputation in Japan and across Asia, and its global litigation capabilities, particularly in Asia and Europe, offer a tremendous platform on which to expand my cross-border litigation practice,” said Mr. Takatori.
Mr. Takatori received his LL.M from Harvard Law School in 1998 and his LL.B from Waseda University in 1989. In addition to his practice, he acts as Co-Convener of the Japan Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as Vice-Chair of the International Committee of the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association and as Chair of the Evidence Division of the Civil Litigation Procedure Amendment Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Mr. Takatori also is listed as a recommended arbitrator by the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, and has been appointed as an arbitrator on many international arbitration cases.
Mr. Yakura graduated with an LL.B from Kyoto University in 1999 and received an LL.M in trade regulation from New York University School of Law in 2005. He received a second LL.M in International Business Law from the London School of Economics in 2006 and a third LL.M from Peking University in 2008. Mr. Yakura is a qualified patent attorney in Japan and a member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association. He also is a member of the Licensing Executives Society Japan, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and the Copyright Law Association of Japan.
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