Paul Hastings has hired Eiji Kobayashi as a corporate partner in Tokyo from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he was the head of corporate, M&A and securities for Japan.

Kobayashi’s practice focuses on advising Japanese corporations on outbound investments and M&A transactions, and he also handles compliance and regulatory investigations for Japanese industrial companies.

“Eiji and his team will strengthen our Asia Corporate practice in a strategically important location for our clients by helping them with their complex outbound acquisitions, cross-border investigations and compliance challenges,” said Seth Zachary, the chairman of Paul Hastings, in a statement.

With the new addition, Paul Hastings has nine lawyers in Japan, including four partners. Its Tokyo office focuses on corporate work, with all but one lawyer – litigation partner Hiro Hagiwara – in the corporate practice.