The Legal 500

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

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.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Toshio Kobayashi heads a strong team which also includes ‘market leader’ Fumihide Sugimoto and the ‘very hardworking’ Miyuki Ishiguro. In 2010, Masayuki Yoshida left the firm to become a Commissioner of the Securities & Exchange Surveillance Commission, but the promotion of Shinichi Araki to partner fills the gap. The firm has excellent referral relationships with leading international firms, particularly US-based names, ensuring an enviable client list of major Japanese and multinational companies such as Sumitomo Mitsui, JPMorgan Securities and RBS. Highlights included advising Mizuho Financial Group on the ¥780bn international and Japanese offerings of shares of common stock in Mizuho Financial Group.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu’s enviable client list includes major Japanese multinationals, private equity funds and financial services companies, but it has a particularly broad coverage of the electronics sector. In 2010, Yuko Tamai and Tomohiko Iwasaki led advice to Panasonic Corporation on the ¥800bn take private of Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works - involving three listed companies and two concurrent tender offers. The firm also advised Sanyo Electric on the sale of its semiconductor business. Koichi Takeuchi heads a large team that also includes newly made-up partners Kazuo Tsuiki and Akemi Suzuki.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, team head Jun Naitoh is considered ‘among the leading litigation partners in Japan’ and is particularly recommended for regulatory advice. On the international side, Hisaya Kimura is strong on commercial litigation, arbitration and employment issues, and Ryoichi Mimura is highly-regarded for IP litigation following a 30-year stint as a judge. Clients include manufacturing companies, IT companies and even private entities for tax litigation. Among the firm’s recent highlights, it represented a financial institution in pension-related litigation.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a second tier firm,

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu continues to rise in profile following the arrival of former IP High Court judge Ryoichi Mimura in 2009 - commended as ‘highly intelligent and technically superb’. The firm acts for domestic and foreign companies on a broad range of contentious matters and recently advised a consumer electronic company in copyright-related litigation. On the non-contentious side, the firm receives a steady flow of instructions relating to the negotiation of license agreements involving patents, copyrights and trade secrets. Kazuo Ohtake heads the team and is recommended.

Within Legal market overview,

With regard to local firms, ‘The Big Four’ - Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu and Nishimura & Asahi continue to dominate the market, but there can be no room for complacency, particularly this year as firms clamour to strengthen their practices. In a major coup, ambitious local firm Atsumi & Sakai hired an eight-lawyer team from local rival TMI Associates in October 2010. In particular, the arrival of structured finance specialist Yutaka Sakai was significant enough to warrant a new addition to the firm’s masthead, which saw the firm change it’s name from Atsumi & Partners. Then in early 2011 Davis & Takahashi, the only full service Canadian law firm in Japan, hired a seven strong team from Atsumi & Sakai.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, team head and corporate finance partner Minoru Ota is recommended for his ‘ability to keep ahead of market trends’ and for his ‘prompt and efficient service’. The firm’s practice spans both project finance and transactional energy work and clients include both sponsors and lenders. Among the firm’s recent highlights, it advised General Electric on the establishment of a smart-meter joint venture company with Fuji Electric Holdings. The firm also advised Nippon Export and Investment Insurance on the project financing of LNG project in Indonesia.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Naohiro Nishimura is recommended for structured real estate finance and advised a set of real estate investment vehicles managed by affiliates of Morgan Stanley on a ¥225bn refinancing.The ‘very experienced and commercially aware’ Shunpei Tanaka is also highly regarded and advised the lenders on a non-recourse financing to the Kyobashi 3-chome redevelopment project. The firm has strength across corporate work, securities and construction projects. Other representative clients include United Urban Investment Corporation, Westmont Hospitality Group and Mapletree investment.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu’s ‘responsive and commercially-sound’ team is headed-up by ‘highly knowledgeable’ securities and regulatory specialist Fumihide Sugimoto. Other high-profile lawyers include real estate securitisation partner Mami Ikebukuro and Satoshi Inoue, who comes highly recommended for his ‘incredible international experience’. The firm acted on a series of high-profile securitisations over the past twelve months but a major highlight was advising the Development Bank of Japan on the securitisation of ¥30bn worth of loans against local government.

Within Independent local firms, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is a first tier firm,

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Yuko Miyazaki is recommended for international tax matters and leads a team which includes the ‘efficient and knowledgeable’ Yushi Hegawa. The firm is building a strong reputation for securities-related cases, and recently advised Japan Finance Corporation and Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities on the application of the new tax regime for debt offerings in the US and European markets.