The Legal 500

Within Independent local firms Leading individuals: bengoshi

Within International firms and joint ventures, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance Law Office has particular expertise in restructuring, acquisition finance and investment grade financings and refinancings. Of particular note, the firm recently advised the steering committee of a syndicate of over 20 lenders of $2bn facilities in connection with Advantage Partners’ acquisition of Tokyo Star Bank. The firm also recently assisted Mizuho Corporate Bank as lenders on the 100% share acquisition of Intelligence from Usen Corp, by KKR. Other clients include Citibank, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. Office managing partner Peter Kilner is ‘very thorough and articulate with excellent negotiation skills’. Masayuki Okamoto and Hidehiko Suzuki are also recommended.

Within International firms and joint ventures, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

‘Excellent’ Clifford Chance Law Office has acted on international equity offerings for clients such as Pioneer Corporation and advised Nomura International on the Unicharm Corporation and Yamato Holdings Co’s convertible bond offerings. The firm has particular strength in the government-related MTN market, and has acted on Development Bank of Japan’s Global MTN Programme and the EMTN Programme for Japan Finance Corporation for Municipalities. It also has a growing reputation for advising on the samurai bond and uridashi bond markets in Japan. Reiko Sakimura is a ‘very good communicator’. Peter Kilner, Eiichi Kanda and Leng-Fong Lai are also recommended.

Within International firms and joint ventures, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance Law Office has strong relationships with Japanese trading houses and corporates and recently represented Mitsui on a $225m joint venture with Singapore’s Hyflux; and NEC on its joint venture with Lenovo. On an international level, the firm advised YTL Hotels & Properties on the acquisition of Niseko Village in Hokkaido from Citigroup Financial Products. Clients also include private equity houses CVC and Permira. The corporate team includes the talented Miho Mizuguchi, Tatsuhiko Kamiyama and counsel Tracy Whiriskey. Private equity specialist Andrew Whan has relocated to Tokyo from Hong Kong. Naoki Watanabe left the firm to join K&L Gates.

Within International firms and joint ventures, tier 4

Clifford Chance Law Office has suffered following the departures of the firm’s head of litigation and dispute resolution in Tokyo James Jamison, who has joined Deloitte in Hong Kong, and Atsushi Yamashita who left the firm to join K&L Gates. The firm still advises clients on disputes ranging from bribery to employment to intellectual property (particularly patent infringements) as well as more general commercial litigation and arbitration. Counsel Michelle Mizutani, Miho Mizuguchi and Hidehiko Suzuki are all experienced in this practice area.

Within Legal market overview,

The legal market in Tokyo, particularly among the international firms and joint ventures has been volatile. When their joint venture came to an end in April 2011, a team of 10 bengoshi transactional lawyers transferred their allegiance from Clifford Chance Law Office to K&L Gates. K&L Gates also welcomed a smaller finance team from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in turn welcomed a group of litigators from Paul Hastings LLP who took another hit with the departure of two corporate bengoshi partners to White & Case LLP- White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association). White & Case LLP- White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association) however suffered a blow when Morrison & Foerster Ito & Mitomi took over its transactional tax team.

Within International firms and joint ventures, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance Law Office advised Credit Suisse on entering into a non-recourse loan transaction relating to a shopping centre building held by Credit Suisse through its sponsored GK/TK structure; and acted for RREEF on the acquisition of an office building located in Tokyo through Delaware LLC SPC. Other clients include Forum partners, Capmark Japan KK and Black Rock Co. Eiichi Kanda has ‘deep knowledge of the real estate business and relevant regulations’. Peter Kilner, Miho Mizuguchi and Leng-Fong Lai are all recommended.

Within International firms and joint ventures, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance Law Office has a leading securitisation and structured finance team in Tokyo with a good balance of English and Japanese qualified lawyers. Recent work has included structured notes and repackaging products involving sovereign and corporate bonds as well as convertible bonds. The firm represented Citigroup Global Markets as consent solicitation agent in respect of a restructuring of the $100m covered bonds issued by Kookmin Bank. Other clients include Morgan Stanley, Forum Partners and Credit Suisse. Peter Kilner, Eiichi Kanda and Leng-Fong Lai all command respect among their peers. Counsel Noriaki Tanimoto left the firm to join K&L Gates.