Colin Passmore, a former senior partner at Simmons & Simmons and who  currently serves as a Special Adviser to TMI Associates (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Managing Partner: Katsuro Tanaka), has been awarded the title of Honorary King’s Counsel, one of the highest honours in the legal profession of England and Wales.

Honorary King’s Counsel is a prestigious distinction conferred on only a select number of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the legal system of England and Wales. The title is conferred by the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.

Mr. Passmore played a central role for more than 30 years at the leading UK law firm Simmons & Simmons, with which TMI has maintained a long-standing relationship in the context of its foreign law joint enterprise. He served as Senior Partner of the firm for ten years from 2011 to 2021, making a significant contribution to its growth and development.

In addition to his role as Special Adviser to TMI, Mr. Passmore currently serves as Chair of the City of London Law Society, where he oversees 20 specialist committees that work with government bodies, regulators, and businesses on legislative and regulatory matters. He is also the author of Privilege, a definitive legal practitioner work on legal professional privilege in England and Wales, often cited by the courts.

 

This award recognises not only his academic contributions to advancing the understanding of legal professional privilege, but also his broad efforts to promote diversity within law firms and the legal profession, to foster a more inclusive legal community, and to support the development of the next generation of legal professionals.

TMI will continue to draw on Mr. Passmore’s extensive experience and insight in enhancing legal services for clients, particularly in Europe and Africa.

Comment from Colin Passmore

I am really proud to receive this award. It has been a privilege to contribute to the profession and to work alongside so many talented colleagues over the years.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to help shape the law and to support the next generation of lawyers.

For further details, please see the announcement on the UK Government website.

About TMI Associates

Since its founding in 1990, TMI Associates has strived to create a law firm which is distinct from any other in Japan and to recast the image of both attorneys and patent/trademark attorneys. During the past 35 years, the firm has experienced rapid organic growth, both numerically and geographically, while maintaining its progressive culture. Starting with 43 personnel, including ten attorneys and one patent attorney, TMI now has 678 attorneys and 101 patent/trademark attorneys among a total of 1,316 personnel as of February 2, 2026, and is one of the five largest law firms in Japan. TMI has numerous branch bases overseas, in Shanghai, Beijing, Yangon, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta*, Kuala Lumpur*, Silicon Valley, London, Paris, and Brussels. TMI is also well positioned to provide a wide range of global legal services through its Chinese service group, French practice group, India and Korea desks, located in its Tokyo office, as well as its joint venture relationships in Japan with Simmons & Simmons LLP, (UK), Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP (US), and ARQIS Foreign Law Office (Germany).

TMI provides a comprehensive range of legal services regarding international corporate transactions and international investment and trade business transactions. The firm has an unrelenting focus on supporting the global business development needs of its clients – both Japanese and global companies – with legal services spanning acquisition and protection of patent and intellectual property rights through to licensing, mergers and acquisitions, financing and dispute resolution, among other major areas of law.

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