Tag: tokyo
Written by Jad on 01 April 2019.
♦ Moves News ♦ Tokyo
Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its Global Banking Practice with the addition of Zenya Onishi as a partner in the Tokyo office. Onishi is fluent in English and Japanese and joins White & Case from Linklaters, where he was counsel. "White & Case is well-known for handling complex, multijurisdictional transactions, and the established teams we have in place in all of the major financial centers around the world are key to that," said Eric Leicht, who leads the Firm’s Global Banking Practice. "The addition of Zenya in our Tokyo office will build on these capabilities, and his cross-border expertise and dual language skills will enable him to leverage off our network and, in turn, strengthen it." Onishi is focused on leveraged finance, acquisition finance and cross-border syndicated loan transactions. He represents domestic and international financial institutions and borrowers on a variety of lending transactions, governmental bodies on multi-national loans and has experience advising on Japanese financial market regulation. "A number of economic factors and changes in government policies have been driving substantially increased financing transactions being conducted throughout the Asia-Pacific region," said White & Case partner Baldwin Cheng, Regional Section Head Asia-Pacific Corporate, Finance & Restructuring Section. "Zenya will be a great asset in meeting the resulting client demand, strengthening our relationships with banks and financial sponsors in Japan and throughout the region." White & Case partner Eric Berg, Head of Asia-Pacific, said: "Banking is an integral part of our client offering as we continue to grow in Asia-Pacific in line with our 2020 strategy. Zenya is a valued further addition to the team, following the promotions of banking lawyer Andrew Bishop and capital markets lawyer Jessica Zhou, both based in Hong Kong, to partner in January 2019, alongside six local partner and counsel promotions in the region."
Written by Jad on 01 April 2019.
♦ Moves News ♦ Tokyo
Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Dale M. Araki as a corporate/M&A partner in its Tokyo office. Araki joins the firm from Morrison & Foerster. Araki represents Japanese, U.S., and other companies from across the globe on a variety of international business transactions. This includes working with both buyers and sellers on mergers, corporate and real estate acquisitions and investments, manufacturing and technology joint ventures, and restructuring transactions in the United States as well as in Japan and other Asian countries. Araki’s clients operate across a broad spectrum of industries in which managing and protecting intellectual property rights are critical. Such clients include major Hollywood studios, prominent Japanese technology companies, and leading European fashion houses. Ryan Dwyer, managing partner of K&L Gates’ Tokyo office, commented: “We are pleased to have Dale join us at K&L Gates. With Dale’s addition, we boost our robust local and regional corporate/M&A practice and our ability to represent Japanese corporate clients in strategic M&A transactions, especially those involving intellectual property, in the U.S., Asia-Pacific, and Europe.” The Tokyo office of K&L Gates was established in 2010 and comprises more than 20 legal professionals, including 11 partners. K&L Gates’ highly regarded corporate/M&A practice includes lawyers across five continents who serve as counsel to a broad array of Global 500, Fortune 100, FTSE 100 corporations, privately held and venture-backed companies, partnerships, private equity firms and other investment funds, management groups, and entrepreneurs.
Written by Jad on 06 November 2018.
♦ Moves News ♦ Tokyo
Squire Patton Boggs has announced the appointment of corporate partner Mörk Murdock. Mr. Murdock is a leading US lawyer who joins the firm after 14 years at Davis Polk, where he previously led the Japan M&A practice in Tokyo. Mr. Murdock is fluent in Japanese and has considerable experience acting for Japanese multinationals in the manufacturing and industrial, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and financial and life insurance sectors. His practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, and he has advised on global securities offerings, corporate investigations and regulatory compliance matters. “We are excited to welcome Mörk to the firm,” commented Tokyo office managing partner and Asia practice coordinator Ken Kurosu. “The appointment of Mörk, following the addition of Rika Beppu last year, adds considerable strength to our team. His arrival underlines the scale of our ambition for continued growth in the region and our desire to provide the highest quality service to our clients.” Corporate practice group leader for Asia Pacific, Stephen Chelberg, added: “Mörk’s skills and experience fit well with the firm’s existing clients and practice, both within and outside of Japan, and we see substantial opportunities to expand our advice to clients in areas such as life sciences, financial services and Japanese industrial and manufacturing sectors.” “I am enthusiastic to join Squire Patton Boggs. Its strong corporate and M&A practice in Tokyo and internationally, global footprint, and Japan and UK law capabilities in Tokyo make Squire Patton Boggs an excellent fit for my practice and my clients,” said Mr. Murdock. Recognized as a Leading Individual for Corporate/M&A in the Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific guides, Mr. Murdock is noted as having built up extensive experience acting on cross-border acquisitions and representing stakeholders in business integrations and mergers. Recent transactions include advising Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation on its US$1.1 billion acquisition of NeuroDerm Limited and assisting Valeo with its partial tender offer for shares of Ichikoh Industries. Mr. Murdock is admitted to practice in New York and is qualified in Japan as a foreign qualified lawyer (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi). Mr. Murdock has served on the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tokyo chapter and helped organize the Tokyo annual meeting of the ABA’s Section of International Law. Mr. Murdock’s appointment follows that of Rika Beppu, who was previously head of Corporate and M&A at Hogan Lovells in Tokyo; Haig Oghigian, the former Tokyo head of commercial disputes at K&L Gates; and Scott Warren, the former general counsel for Sega and senior attorney at Microsoft Japan. In 2014, the firm combined with Tokyo-based corporate and transactional practice, Mamiya Law Offices. The Squire Patton Boggs global Corporate Practice Group has more than 370 corporate lawyers across its 47 offices. It is one of the world’s leading practices for both domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, particularly mid-market transactions, including M&A, joint ventures, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, equity investments and public takeover offers. The global Corporate Group is also well known for advising clients in industry sectors such as chemicals, diversified industrials, energy and natural resources, financial services and fintech, technology, healthcare and life sciences, media and communications, retail, and sports and entertainment.
Written by Jad on 03 October 2018.
♦ Moves News ♦ Tokyo
Morgan Lewis today continues its expansion in Asia by welcoming corporate partners Motonori “Moto” Araki and Mitsuyoshi “Mitsu” Saito, resident in Tokyo. Moto has also been appointed Managing Partner of the Tokyo office. Moto, who spent many years with Morgan Lewis and served as a partner until 2007, is one of Japan’s most highly respected international lawyers. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, intellectual property licensing, and international dispute resolution involving a variety of industries. Mitsu advises on an array of corporate, dispute resolution, and labor and employment-related matters for Japanese and non-Japanese clients across a number of industries, including electronics, information technology, chemistry, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. “I am very pleased to welcome Moto back to our firm, and into his new role as Managing Partner for Tokyo, along with Mitsu. Together they will further solidify our services to clients in Japan and throughout the Asia-Pacific region during an exciting time for our firm in the region,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Their arrival deepens and strengthens our ability to counsel clients on a broad range of both inbound and outbound cross-border corporate and regulatory matters.” With offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Almaty, and Astana, in addition to Tokyo, Morgan Lewis’s Asia practice continues to go from strength to strength. Moto and Mitsu’s arrival closely follows two new partners who joined the firm last month in Hong Kong and Singapore, in addition to a further partner in Beijing. “Our clients require the services of lawyers who are skilled in handling both local and global matters, and the arrival of Moto and Mitsu perfectly fills those needs,” said Steve Browne, head of Morgan Lewis’s global corporate and business transactions practice. “Our firm and our clients will rely on them for advice on all aspects of transactions involving both Japanese and non-Japanese companies.” More about the new partners: Moto Araki represents buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions on cross-border transactions and assists in structuring, documenting, and negotiating those transactions. He also represents major US and Japanese companies in cross-border transactions and regulatory matters. He has done substantial work in representing Japanese corporations in US intellectual property litigation, US antitrust litigation, and other dispute resolution matters. In these representations, he counsels Japanese corporations for litigation strategies, efficient discovery, effective pleadings, and settlement negotiations. Mitsu Saito advises on a wide range of corporate, dispute resolution, labor and employment-related issues, including structuring employment arrangements in M&A settings, drafting and reviewing employment agreements, work rules and other employment-related agreements and internal rules. He also represents clients in employment-related disputes, including dismissal cases.
Written by Jad on 09 April 2018.
♦ Moves News ♦ Tokyo
Mayer Brown is pleased to announce that a three-lawyer team has joined the firm’s new office in Tokyo, including Shri Maski and Gordon Palmquist, who join as partners in the firm’s Banking & Finance and Corporate & Securities practices, respectively, and Tomo Adachi, who joins as a senior associate in the firm’s Banking & Finance practice. Mr. Maski and Mr. Adachi were previously at Ashurst, while Mr. Palmquist rejoins the firm from Shearman and Sterling. “I am pleased to welcome this impressive group of lawyers to our new office in Japan, which recently began operation,” said Rupert Burrows, the leader of Mayer Brown’s Tokyo office. “My new colleagues will play a pivotal role in helping to fortify Mayer Brown’s relationships with its Japanese clients by drawing on the firm’s strength in project and other finance, energy and mining, M&A transactions, private investment funds matters, disputes and investigations, and other areas such as intellectual property and regulatory matters. Together with our colleagues in Tokyo and around the world, we will be in a strong position to expand the range of service offerings to our Japan-based clients in the US, Latin America, Europe, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.” Mr. Maski has considerable experience in banking and financing transactions, including project financings. He provides advice on complex projects to lenders, including export credit agencies in Europe and Asia, sponsors, and public authorities in several sectors, including energy, mining and infrastructure. He was seconded to export credit agencies in Tokyo and Seoul, where he provided advice on transactions in Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He has worked in Tokyo for more than five years and before that in London, Singapore and Dubai. Mr. Maski received his MA from the University of Kent at Canterbury and LLM from University College London. He is qualified to practice under English law. Mr. Palmquist focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private investment funds. He advises Japanese corporations, insurance companies and other financial institutions on outbound M&A, sales of overseas subsidiaries and private equity and venture capital investments. He also regularly advises on fund formation and real estate and infrastructure investments. He began his career at Mayer Brown in Chicago after earning his BA from Saint Olaf College, his MA from International University of Japan, and his JD from University of Minnesota Law School. Mr. Palmquist is U.S. law qualified and has spent more than 15 years in Japan, where he worked in marketing and sales before attending law school. “I am excited to join Rupert in helping to spearhead the growth and success of Mayer Brown’s new office in Tokyo,” said Mr. Maski. “With my background in banking and financings aligning with one of the firm’s core strengths, I will be in a strong position to enhance our service to clients in Japan and beyond.” “With its core commitment to client service and strengthening relationships with clients, Mayer Brown offers an ideal platform,” added Mr. Palmquist. “I look forward to contributing to the development of the office and serving as a liaison between our Japanese clients and my new colleagues in offices throughout the world.”