Asian Legal Business has announced the list of finalists for the 12th annual Japan Law Awards, which will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Tokyo on June 14.

Atsumi & Sakai is the frontrunner with 13 nominations, including for Banking/Financial Services Law Firm of the Year and Managing Partner of the Year. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto have 11 nominations each – with both firms being nominated for the Litigation Law Firm of the Year award, – while Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu has 10 nominations.

The international law firm pack is currently led by Baker & McKenzie with 10 nominations, including for International IP Law Firm of the year, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has six nominations, including International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year. Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morrison Foerster have five nominations each, while Clifford Chance has four.

Among the in-house teams, Colt Technology Services has four nominations, including for TMT In-House Team of the Year, while IBM Japan and INPEX Corporation have three each. Both are nominated for Innovative In-House Team of the Year. Asurion, Fox Networks Japan, ITOCHU Corporation and Zara Corporation have two nominations each, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Audible, Fortress Investment Group, Mizuho and Unilever are also finalists.