Japan > Tax > International firms and joint ventures
Index of tables
Tax: International firms and joint ventures
Leading individuals: foreign lawyers
-
- Eric Roose Morrison & Foerster Ito & Mitomi
- Gary Thomas White & Case LLP- White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association)
- Edwin Whatley Baker & McKenzie GJBJ Tokyo Aoyama Aoki Koma Law Office
Baker & McKenzie GJBJ Tokyo Aoyama Aoki Koma Law Office’s tax group continues to impress both clients and contemporaries. It ‘provides a very professional, responsive and knowledgeable service’. The firm fields a full-service team comprised of Japan-qualified lawyers, tax attorneys (zeirishi), US-qualified tax lawyers, economists (both foreign and domestic), financial analysts and certified practicing accountants. The group advises on general corporate tax matters, transfer pricing and tax litigation. Recently, it advised a NYSE-listed software company with various corporate and tax advice (including due diligence) related to the $170m takeover of its Japanese subsidiary, from a Japanese venture capital firm; and acted for a NYSE-listed skin care company in a litigation matter at the Tokyo District Court with Japan customs. Group head Edwin Whatley has ‘good industry and tax technical knowledge, and gives us very practical advice’.
Morrison & Foerster Ito & Mitomi launched its tax practice with the hire of the market leading transactional tax group from White & Case LLP- White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association). The firm now has the ability to offer coordinated advice on tax matters under Japanese, US and other foreign tax laws, and the capacity to provide integrated tax and legal advice. Eric Roose, Yasuo Igarashi, Takeo Mizutani and of counsel Michael Shikuma make a formidable team, whose clients include CapitaLand and Hitachi. Indeed, the firm recently represented Hitachi with respect to the $4.3bn sale of its Global Storage Technology group to Western Digital, which involved structuring the sale of global GST group with subsidiaries in the US, Europe and Asia.
Although White & Case LLP- White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association) suffered a blow with the loss of its transactional tax team to Morrison & Foerster Ito & Mitomi, tax doyen Gary Thomas and his tax controversy team remain at the firm. With the ability to provide both local Japanese tax advice as well as foreign tax advice, the firm also advises on Japan’s increasingly demanding tax enforcement environment. The firm’s clientsinclude major US, European and Japanese corporate groups in a variety of industries, including consumer goods, imported luxury brands, computer hardware and software, pharmaceutical and medical products, insurance, financial services, sporting goods, and entertainment. Zeirishi and former National Tax Agency official Akira Akamatsu and Shimon Takagi are also highly recommended.
Koichi Inoue’s tax team at Jones Day works in collaboration with the firm’s M&A, real estate, and finance lawyers. Recently, the firm provided a US hi-tech company with detailed legal and tax analysis to figure out an optimal transaction scheme for equipment leases; and provided legal and tax advice regarding therestructuring of Japanese companies that had Chinese subsidiaries.