New Japanese lawyer appointment ensures an integrated Japanese and international law practice
LAWFUEL – Law News Network – International legal practice Allen & Overy announced today that a team of two Japanese qualified lawyers (“bengoshi”) will join as partners based in its Tokyo office. Qualified to practise Japanese law, these new partners will significantly boost the firm’s presence in the country. With Japan’s strengthened economy and the growth in corporate and commercial transactions in the market, especially mergers and acquisition activity, the appointment of two bengoshi partners will enable the firm to offer integrated Japanese and international legal advice.
David Morley, Worldwide Managing Partner at Allen & Overy LLP, commented, “As a leading international practice with a network of offices in 25 major cities around the world, Allen & Overy is well-positioned to advise on global transactions. With Japanese law capability, we will be able to provide seamless legal advice across markets. Japan plays a crucial role in our Asian practice and we are committed to our presence there. We look forward to welcoming our new partners in Tokyo.”
Brian Harrison, Head of Asian Practice at Allen & Overy, said, “We are pleased to be adding bengoshi to our Tokyo practice. With a strengthened Japanese economy and as corporate and M&A activity grows, we feel this is the right time to broaden our capabilities in the market, so that our clients can enjoy the benefits of an integrated practice that offers both domestic and international expertise and a consistent level of excellence in service across jurisdictions.”
“In view of the boom in both public and private M&A and other financing activity in Japan, the new Japanese capability will complement our existing international law capability and will allow the firm to offer an integrated service to our clients in Japan, and by drawing on our experience elsewhere, to assist in introducing internationally adopted techniques to transactions in Japan,” said Cees Vellekoop, partner and head of Allen & Overy’s Tokyo office. “With their solid experience and diverse backgrounds, the two new Japanese partners will form the cornerstone for growing the Japanese law practice here in Japan.”
The two Japanese qualified lawyers who will join Allen & Overy’s Tokyo office are:
Nobuo Nakata – Mr. Nakata specialises in corporate and M&A as well as structured finance work. A qualified Japanese lawyer who is also admitted to the New York bar, he is currently a partner at the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Tokyo office. He has represented financial institutions and business corporations on mergers and acquisitions of both public and private Japanese companies, as well as advising Japanese clients on cross-border global acquisitions. He has also represented institutional clients and US and Japanese buyout funds, as well as acting on financings (including acquisition finance, securitisation and real estate finance).
Osamu Ito – Mr. Ito is a Japanese qualified lawyer and is currently partner at Asahi Koma Law Offices in Tokyo. Specialising in general corporate, M&A, joint ventures and intellectual property, he has acted for international clients on their transactions and ongoing corporate law compliance matters in Japan. He has represented many brand and technology companies, and also was active in non-contentious intellectual property work, including licensing and joint venture work. Beginning his career at Masuda & Ejiri (currently Asahi Koma Law Offices) in Tokyo, Mr. Ito spent a year at Studio Legale Pavia e Asaldo in Rome and Milan, before returning to Japan.
For further information, please contact Yvonne So (yvonne.so@allenovery.com) in Hong Kong on +852 2974 7091 or Campbell McIlroy (campbell.mcilroy@allenovery.com) in London on +44 20-3088 2783 .
