Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, the Japanese law firm, has appointed five associates and one of counsel as new partners. Three associates have also become of counsel.
The new partners are:
- Seiji Akimoto, who specialises in cross-border M&A and corporate acquisitions, and investments involving companies from all over the world, especially those in South-East Asia;
- Shigeki Okatani, who has expertise in renewable energy projects, public-private partnerships, real estate, and structured finance;
- Shinichiro Yokota, who is active in domestic and cross-border dispute resolution as well as bankruptcy/restructuring and financial regulations. He has also handled a wide variety of general corporate legal matters, including employment matters and regulatory and compliance matters;
- Masakazu Kumagai, who has extensive capital markets experience, including global IPOs and other global offerings, and private placements; M&A and private equity fund matters;
- Shiho Ono, who handles a broad range of domestic and international disputes. In particular, she regularly advises clients on labour and employment laws and anti-trust laws, having handled a wide variety of complex business litigation, including class actions and international cartel cases; and
- Akira Matsushita, who focuses on cross-border/domestic M&A transactions, corporate governance, takeover defence and general corporate and securities law matters. He has advised many listed companies subject to shareholder activism and hostile takeovers, including proxy fights.
The three new of counsel are in each of the intellectual property, securities and banking, and international banking and finance practice areas.