Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP‘s Tokyo office maintains a strong track record in cross-border venture capital investment matters. The team has a robust client base of early-stage companies and VC funds in the life sciences and healthcare industries. Praised for his ’ability to navigate complex cross-border transactions’, practice head Hiroki Sugita, who is dual-qualified in Japan and New York, stands out for his expertise advising technology companies.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team is very knowledgeable about my area of practice. They have kept up with the latest changes in regulations and are able to provide timely advice.’

  • ‘Hiroki Sugita is particularly bright. He has a strong business sense and can advise me from different angles.’

  • ‘We were truly grateful for the prompt internal collaboration with professionals across various specialised fields, not just M&A negotiations, which allowed us to receive timely advice.’

  • 'The Orrick team has supported me and company for the last fundraising event, which was a positive experience. They partnered up globally and could tell they possess the domain expertise and negotiation tactics. They understood and experienced well for fund raising from Silicon Valley.'

  • ‘Hiroki Sugita was invaluable, expertly leveraging his internal network and specialised knowledge, while also accurately understanding our needs as clients. This enabled him to provide incredibly timely advice. Furthermore, he led negotiations with the other party in English, playing an indispensable role.’

  • ‘The team is knowledgeable and professional, with strong in-depth knowledge within the industry. They represented us well. ’

Key clients

  • LUCA Science Inc.
  • Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
  • Nxera Pharma (formerly known as Sosei Heptares)
  • Tadano Ltd.
  • Toyota Motor Corporation
  • UTokyo Innovation Platform
  • Happiness Capital
  • SHO-BOND & MIT Infrastructure Maintenance Corporation
  • SAP SE
  • Yokogawa Electric Corporation
  • Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Work highlights

Advised Yokogawa Electric Corporation in relation to legal due diligence work and the structuring of, as well as the negotiation of a transaction agreement in connection with Yokogawa's acquisition of all outstanding shares in BaxEnergy GmbH.
Advised Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in relation to legal due diligence work and the structuring, as well as negotiation of a transaction agreement in connection with Mitsui's acquisition of a majority interest in Redpoint Cybersecurity LLC.
Advised Synopsys, Inc. on the sale of its Software Integrity Business to Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. and Francisco Partners and on the sale of its Optical Solutions Group to Keysight Technologies, Inc.

Lawyers

Leading partners: Gaiben

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Practice head

Hiroki Sugita