The Legal 500

These tables cover a firm’s overarching banking and finance capability. Reference will therefore be made to a practice’s capability in areas covered elsewhere in the chapter, for example, projects, capital markets, real estate and structured finance. As a caveat to that, however, most weight will be given to a firm’s ability to handle big-ticket corporate finance deals and provide regulatory advice.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune shines on the regulatory side but also packs a punch in syndicated lending and transactional work. Among the names to note, Isao Shindo is recommended as a ‘securities specialist’, Satoshi Inoue is known for structured finance matters, and ‘star partner’ Tatsu Katayama is widely considered as ‘one of the top derivative lawyers in Japan’. Recent highlights include advising the borrowers on the $80m LBO financing for the MBO of Japan Automobile Auction.

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is ‘one of the best firms in Japan’ and lawyers score points for being ‘accurate, informative, experienced and creative’. Structured finance specialist Masanori Sato is ‘definitely a leading counsel’, Toru Ishiguro is recommended for his transactional and regulatory experience, and Satoko Kuwabara is highly regarded for LBO finance. In a landmark mandate, the firm advised national carrier Japan Airlines on a large refinancing relating to its high profile ¥2.3tn corporate reorganisation.

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Fumihide Sugimoto heads a team that has experience across a broad range of real estate finance, project finance and trade finance. Among the names to note, Satoshi Inoue is recommended for trust structuring, while Takao Higuchi is a respected name for PFI matters. The firm recently advised MSREF, the real estate fund of Morgan Stanley, on the refinancing and restructuring of a ¥225bn loan obtained for the acquisition of ANA Hotels.

Nishimura & Asahi is ‘one of the first names you think of for banking work’. The firm has made its name handling complex deals, with securitisations, real estate finance and asset finance being core areas of activity. Masaru Ono is ‘a, if not the, leader on structured finance in the Japanese market’, Masahiro Ueno specialises in acquisition finance, and Makoto Igarashi is recommended on the asset management side. Among the firm’s recent highlights, it was involved in the ANA Hotels portfolio debt restructuring

Atsumi & Sakai’s team attracts praise for its ‘hardworking lawyers’ and ‘considerable depth of experience’. The arrival of Yutaka Sakai from local rival TMI Associates in 2010 gives the firm considerable heavyweight status. Sakai is considered ‘one of the opinion leaders of the business legal world in Japan’ and is commended for ‘keeping up with the changes in the financial field so that he can promptly advise the client with little down time’. Team head Hiroo Atsumi, structured finance partner Junko Ogushi and securities specialist Hiroyuki Nezu are also highly recommended. The firm recently advised on the preparation of a ¥55bn loan agreement.

City-Yuwa Partners advises banks and financial services companies on a broad range of finance products including structured finance, acquisition finance and asset management. An international referral favourite, the firm has a good record in advising on the domestic aspects of major cross-border transactions. Debt work is a strong area and Eri Furukawa excels on the regulatory side, while Izuru Goto and Junko Hirakawa are strong on securitisation. Shoji Ushijima is also recommended for corporate finance work.

TMI Associates’ practice spans general banking work, structured finance, corporate finance and financial services matters. Noriko Sakai has strong experience in asset-backed lending and acquisition finance, while Katsumi Shirai has a good reputation on the project finance side and also specialises in advising clients from English and German speaking countries on inward investment. Dual US and Japan-qualified Kiyomi Kikuchi is also recommended.