The Legal 500

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

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.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto’s lawyers are recommended for their ‘vision and ability to keep ahead of the market trends’ and rivals ‘are simply not able to compare with their high levels of expertise’. Katsumasa Suzuki attracts plaudits for his ‘knowledge of the law, financial acumen, and excellent understanding of the market’, while the prolific Toru Ishiguro is ‘one of the most experienced pair of hands in the domestic market’. In a landmark piece of work, the team advised Nomura on the Japanese aspects of its issuance of the first US dollar-denominated sukuk for a Japanese corporation.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

At Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Gaku Ishiwata is recommended for his ‘calm and collected approach’, and recently advised Coca-Cola West on its $750m acquisition of food and drink company Q’Sai from Daiwa Corporate investment. The ‘responsive and intelligent’ Yuto Matsumura continues to score points with clients for his ‘excellent ability to coordinate transactions’ and had a hand in several major deals over the past year; advising Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group on its £4bn acquisition of RBS’s project financing business stands out in size and profile. Other noted partners include Satoko Kuwabara - singled out for her ‘strong domestic and international experience’ - and ‘heavyweight M&A partner’ Satoshi Kawai.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto’s dispute resolution practice draws admiring glances for its ‘very experienced lawyers, dignified case management and excellent client service’. Although the caseload has a strong IP slant, the firm also has experience across commercial litigation, tax disputes and criminal defence matters. Notable highlights included successfully representing Sony Corporation in a copyright and trade secret infringement case in the Tokyo District Court, filed by a Taiwanese company. Mugi Sekido is recommended for domestic and regulatory work, corporate specialist Harumichi Uchida is strong on the international side, and Shanghai-based Yoshio Iteya has an excellent track record in cases involving China.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a second tier firm,

At Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Yuko Noguchi continues to impress clients with her ‘ability to get to grips quickly with the fundamentals of any case’, Masayuki Matsuda is ‘highly experienced’, and Tomoya Fujimoto is recommended for entertainment work. On the litigation side, the firm is particularly active in patent and trade mark infringement cases and successfully represented Sony Corporation in a high-value copyright and trade secret infringement case. Other representative clients include Bellsystem24 and Nippon Television Network Corporation.

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, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a second tier firm,

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto’s projects capability sits within its finance practice and specialises in advising on the lender side of project finance mandates. The firm receives a steady flow of both infrastructure and power project instructions, with a notable strength on the PFI side. Takeshi Mukawa is recommended.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is highlighted as ‘the leading firm for real estate finance’, with lawyers praised as ‘always accurate, informative, experienced and creative’. Masanori Sato is ‘definitely the leading counsel for property finance’, but structured finance partner Atsuko Matsui and Eriko Ozawa are also recommended. Among the firm’s recent transactions, it advised Heiwa Real Estate Asset Management on its acquisition of Japan Single-Residence REIT - notably its client was concurrently acquiring shares of another asset management company from a group of shareholders that included the insolvent Lehman Brothers, which made the transaction more complex.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a first tier firm,

Lawyers at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto score points for being ‘creative and innovative’, with clients particularly valuing their ability to ‘challenge conventional structures’. Masanori Sato is a ‘forward-thinking lawyer with a strong market empathy’ while Toru Ishiguro is noted for his regulatory expertise. In a landmark mandate, the firm advised Nomura Holdings on the Japanese aspects of the issuance of the first US dollar-denominated sukuk for a Japanese corporation - worth $100m. Also recommended are Susumu Masuda, who excels on tax issues, and Eriko Ozawa, who is known for structured real estate transactions.

Within Independent local firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a second tier firm,

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto advised listed Japan-based company DeNa on complex tax issues relating to its $361m acquisition of US-based ngmoco - the first cross-border “in-out” triangular merger using the stock of a Japanese corporation for the acquisition of a foreign corporation. Atsushi Oishi is ‘one of the leading tax lawyers in the market’, and M&A tax specialist Yoshihiro Kojima is also recommended.