Global law firm Latham & Watkins has turned to U.S. rival Morrison & Foerster to bolster its M&A capabilities in Japan with the hire of deals and private equity partner Yohei Nakagawa in Tokyo.
Nakagawa specialises in cross-border transaction advisory with a particular focus on the technology, life sciences, media, and entertainment industries.
His clients have included SoftBank, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba, and Asahi Kasei.
“Japan is a key global finance and innovation hub and an important pillar of our Asia strategy,” Posit Laohaphan, managing partner of Latham & Watkins’ Asia offices, said in a statement.
“Japan continues to be a highly attractive destination for international companies and investors, and the market for domestic and cross-border M&A is strong and expected to grow,” added Charles Ruck, global chair of Latham's corporate group.
Latham lost transactions partner Noah Carr to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in November. With the arrival of Nakagawa, the firm lists five partners in Tokyo. White-collar crime partner Kaede Toh also left Latham in February to set up her own practice in the Japanese capital.
