TMI Associates‘ team is well-placed to advise national sports federations, professional leagues and affiliated clubs across all major sports on various matters. Alongside sponsorship and licensing work, the team is well-versed in sports governance, misconduct, and anti-doping disputes. Tomohiro Tohyama is experienced advising on regulatory and compliance aspects of international sporting events, and leads the team alongside Katsuro Tanaka. Yoichiro Kuriyama’s areas of expertise include marketing, brand protection, contractual, and regulatory compliance matters. Atsushi Igarashi specialises in IP licensing and data privacy, while Masaki Sakaida focuses on international anti-doping disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘TMI team always understood our situation well and immediately proposed an appropriate response. In particular, Atsushi Igarashi had a wealth of experience and was extremely reliable.’
‘Probably the strongest sports law team in Japan. Absolutely top to work with. Strong, passionate, precise, diligent, fast.’
‘Yoichiro Kuriyama is a great leader, has unique knowledge in sports-related matters and has the ability to deal with complex cases in a very efficient and successful manner. He is the lawyer to go to for sports-related matters. Satoshi Arakawa has exceptional experience in sports-related matters and fantastic knowledge.’
‘TMI Associates has a track-record in the sports industry that sets it apart from other law firms.'
‘Through his long-standing involvement in anti-doping activities, attorney Masaki Sakaida is one of the few legal professionals who not only excels in interpreting the structure and specific provisions of anti-doping regulations, but also possesses deep insight into the broader context of the sports industry. He has demonstrated outstanding capabilities as an athlete’s legal representative.'
‘The firm has a broad team of lawyers with a high-level of specialised expertise, and appropriate teams are formed for each case under the leadership of the JFA's primary legal counsel.’
Work highlights
Represented a Japanese investor in connection with an investment in a football club belonging to the Dutch second division (MVV Maastricht).
Provided advice to a sports league governing body regarding changes to the annual salary system of the league based on the Anti-Monopoly Act.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Yoichiro Kuriyama
Masaki Sakaida
Practice head
Katsuro Tanaka; Tomohiro Tohyama
Other key lawyers
Atsushi Igarashi; Masaki Sakaida; Yoichiro Kuriyama; Satoshi Arakawa