Latham & Watkins Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise

Richard Fleming

Richard Fleming is counsel in the Finance Department of Latham & Watkins Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise. His practice focuses on project development and finance transactions, with a background in leveraged and acquisition finance. Richard regularly represents both sponsors and lenders in large, complex financings and has extensive experience in power project transactions in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other regions throughout Asia. Prior to joining Latham, Richard worked in the Los Angeles office of a large international law firm where he represented commercial and investment banks, private equity sponsors, as well as private and public companies in connection with bank and acquisition finance matters, refinancings, and restructurings. Richard is a registered foreign lawyer in Japan as a member of the Dai-Ni Tokyo Bar Association.

Benjamin Han

Benjamin Han is an associate in the Corporate Department of Latham & Watkins Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise and a member of the Data & Technology Transactions Practice. Benjamin assists in the representation of leading Japanese and multinational companies on a variety of intellectual property and commercial matters, including: Intellectual property licensing, sale, and other transactions Joint development, joint venture, strategic alliance, and outsourcing arrangements Product manufacturing, supply, and distribution arrangements He has assisted in the representation of clients in a variety of industries, including companies in the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications sectors. Prior to joining Latham, Benjamin was an associate at a leading international law firm in Tokyo. Benjamin is a registered foreign lawyer (Gaikokuho-Jimu Bengoshi) in Japan, with his primary qualification in California, USA. He is a member of the Dai-Ni Tokyo Bar Association.

Hiroki Kobayashi

Hiroki Kobayashi is currently Of Counsel. He advises high-profile international and Japanese companies on all aspects of corporate transactions and project development and finance with a Japan nexus. Hiroki leverages more than two decades of experience guiding clients on Japanese legal issues relating to: Inbound mergers and acquisitions Employment Antitrust Bankruptcy Government regulatory matters He helps non-Japanese clients understand Japan’s cultural best practices and navigate the country’s complex legal regime. Hiroki builds trusted relationships with clients to support their business objectives within the region. Hiroki also assists Japanese clients engaging in mergers and acquisitions outside Japan together with Latham colleagues in relevant jurisdictions. Hiroki provides strategic and legal advice to Japanese sponsors and lenders in project development and finance matters, including in the oil and gas and power sectors. He frequently lectures on US/Japan corporate law matters at business seminars, providing practical solutions for Japanese expatriate candidates and managers of US subsidiaries and operations. Hiroki is a member of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association in Japan and the New York State Bar Association. He maintains an active pro bono practice, including advising Ashoka, a nonprofit organization that identifies and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.

Stephen McWilliams

Stephen McWilliams advises sponsors and lenders on the most complex and innovative project development and finance transactions in Asia. He heads the firm’s Project Development & Finance Practice for Asia. Stephen counsels clients on innovative solutions to complex development and financing issues in developing markets across Asia, especially for first-of-their-kind, multi-lender projects. He particularly focuses on Energy & Infrastructure projects in the areas of: Petrochemicals Power Mining Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Energy Transition Stephen brings decades of experience in Asia, helping lenders and sponsors establish markets with large scale precedent-setting deals. He leverages the firm’s global platform to assemble teams with market-leading experience across multiple practices.

Yohei Nakagawa

Yohei Nakagawa advises Japanese and international clients on a wide range of complex cross-border M&A transactions. Yohei draws on extensive experience across diverse sectors, including technology, life sciences, and media, to guide clients on: Outbound and inbound mergers and acquisitions Strategic investments International joint ventures Fully bilingual in Japanese and English, he engages with clients and other parties seamlessly between both languages and brings a multicultural perspective to achieve commercial outcomes in complex cross-border M&A transactions. Prior to joining Latham, Yohei was a partner at a leading international law firm in Tokyo, and has also practiced in the New York and Miami offices of his previous firm. He is a member of the New York Bar and is a registered foreign lawyer (Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi) in Japan as a member of the Dai-Ni Tokyo Bar Association.

Michael Rackham

Michael Rackham is an experienced adviser to private equity investors and corporations on complex, cross-border corporate matters in the Asia-Pacific region. Michael’s practice encompasses a wide variety of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, disposals, auctions, private equity and leveraged buyouts, take-privates, spinoffs, and joint ventures. Prior to joining Latham, Michael worked for 10 years in the Hong Kong and London offices of two other US law firms.

David Shin

David Shin is an associate in the Singapore office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Finance Department. Mr. Shin’s practice focuses on project development and finance as well as other project-related transactions, particularly in the power, renewables, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Shin joined the firm in 2019 from another leading international law firm.

Hiroaki Takagi

Hiroaki Takagi advises Japanese and international companies and private equity firms on complex M&A transactions with a Japan nexus. Dual qualified in Japan and the US, Hiroaki draws on more than two decades of experience advising clients on: Cross-border and domestic M&A transactions Japanese and US securities regulations Data privacy Corporate governance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters Trade control Other regulatory and general corporate law matters He distills the complexities of Japanese market norms and regulatory frameworks into commercially focused legal advice for international clients. Hiroaki leverages his extensive experience navigating cross-border M&A to guide Japanese clients in transactions globally. Hiroaki brings an in-depth understanding of public company law garnered from his secondment experience with the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Justice. In this role, he helped to oversee a major reform of the Companies Act in Japan, which passed into law in 2014. Hiroaki is a member of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association in Japan and the New York State Bar Association. He was Chairman of the Legal Education Committee of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association and has served as a visiting professor at Gakushuin University Law School, where he lectured on M&A law. Hiroaki also actively participates with the Inter-Pacific Bar Association.