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Ebisu Prime Square Tower, 16F
1-1-39 Hiroo
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-0012
Japan
1-1-39 Hiroo
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-0012
Japan
F +81 3 5774 1818
One of the first US legal practices in Asia, our Tokyo office brings you a dedicated team to handle any issue you may encounter while doing business in Japan. Global in outlook, we provide general counsel and guidance to many of Japan’s largest companies in their worldwide operations, as well as major companies outside Japan expanding into the country.
Our team has substantial experience, a breadth of industry expertise and the ability to collaborate with our other Asia Pacific offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.
We first established a presence in Tokyo in 1955 when we operated for a time under the name of Graham & James LLP. We long since reopened in Tokyo in 1988 under the new laws and in 2010 our office merged with the law and patent office of Miki & Yoshida, a renowned intellectual property firm. In July of 2014, our office combined with Mamiya Law Offices, a Tokyo-based corporate and transactional practice firm that specializes in M&A, corporate governance, and financial services, strengthening further our practice in Japan.
Why Choose Us
Truly global, our office is a gaikokuho kyodo jigyo – employing both foreign-licensed and Japan-licensed lawyers. This means that we are perfectly positioned to advise global investors on Japanese legal matters. In addition, we actively protect and enforce the intellectual property rights of companies of all sizes and defend various companies in relation to alleged violations of intellectual property rights. Of the 33 lawyers in our Tokyo office, more than half are licensed to practice law in Japan, with many also licensed in the US. Most of our lawyers speak and read Japanese and many speak other languages, enabling us to perform cross-border work with ease. In addition:
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific recommends our Tokyo office for corporate/M&A: international firms and joint ventures, and lists one of our lawyers as a leading individual for corporate/M&A.
- The Best Lawyers in Japan features two of our team for their distinctive M&A work and one for his intellectual property work.
- Our Tokyo lawyers are frequent lecturers and authors on the legal aspects of doing business in Asia Pacific and resolving cross-border disputes. Several in our office have held positions within Japan-based corporations and Japan-based law firms, including the first foreign lawyer appointed as an outside director of a Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) company.