Addition of Japanese Law Capability in Expanded Practice Led by New Managing Partner Aled Davies
HONG KONG, March 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- As a sign that the Japanese economy remains buoyant, the Tokyo office of leading international legal practice Allen & Overy ( www.allenovery.com ) will expand its practice by adding Japanese law to its current English and US law capabilities. The office, which will be subsequently renamed Allen & Overy Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho, will be a strengthened practice that provides integrated domestic and international legal advice for Japanese and multinational clients in Japan and around the world. The Japanese law practice will be headed by leading Japanese qualified lawyers (bengoshi) Nobuo Nakata, who specialises in corporate, M&A and structured finance work, and Osamu Ito, who specialises in corporate, M&A, joint venture and intellectual property work. As part of this development, Partner Aled Davies will succeed current Managing Partner Cees Vellekoop to head up the Tokyo office beginning this month, as Mr. Vellekoop retires after 26 years with the firm and Loeff Claeys Verbeke, which merged with Allen & Overy Tokyo in 2000. The Tokyo office is also increasing resources across all its practice areas including corporate, banking, international capital markets, and U.S. law.
(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200703121714.jpg )
Brian Harrison, Head of Asian Practice, Allen & Overy, said, "We are pleased that our Tokyo office has advanced another step in its expansion plans. With additional capabilities and more resources, we look forward to offering our clients integrated international and Japanese legal services. I would like to thank Mr. Vellekoop for building Allen & Overy into a leading international practice in Japan and wish to congratulate Mr. Davies on his appointment as Managing Partner of the Tokyo office. Mr. Davies' expertise and his knowledge of Japan and the international operating environment will be crucial to taking our Tokyo practice to new heights."
Aled Davies, Managing Partner of Alley & Overy Tokyo, said, "With the boom in M&A and other financing activity in Japan, we understand that the ability to apply international legal techniques to transactions in Japan is essential to ensuring the successful implementation of complex transactions. Our additional Japanese law practice, led by Mr. Nakata and Mr. Ito, will complement our existing international law capability and will enable us to bring to our clients the benefits of an integrated, comprehensive practice that offers both domestic and international expertise."
Aled Davies has been with Allen & Overy in Japan for over ten years and specialises in banking, structured and project finance transactions.
Nobuo Nakata is a Japanese qualified lawyer (bengoshi) who joins our Tokyo practice as Partner, specialising in corporate and M&A as well as structured finance work. A qualified Japanese lawyer who is also admitted to the New York bar, he was formerly a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Tokyo office. He represents financial institutions and business corporations on mergers and acquisitions of both public and private Japanese companies, as well as advising Japanese clients on cross-border global acquisitions. He has also represented institutional clients and US and Japanese buyout funds, as well as acting on financings (including acquisition finance, securitisation and real estate finance).
Osamu Ito is a Japanese qualified lawyer (bengoshi) who will join our Tokyo practice in April this year as Partner. Currently partner at Asahi Koma Law Offices in Tokyo, he specialises in general corporate, M&A, joint ventures and intellectual property, and has acted for international clients on their transactions and ongoing corporate law compliance matters in Japan. He has represented many brand and technology companies, and also was active in non-contentious intellectual property work, including licensing and joint venture work. Beginning his career at Masuda & Ejiri (currently Asahi Koma Law Offices) in Tokyo, Mr. Ito spent a year at Studio Legale Pavia e Asaldo in Rome and Milan, before returning to Japan.
Note to Editors:
Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 4,500 staff, including some 450 partners, working in 24 major centres worldwide.
Allen & Overy's Tokyo office was established in 1988 and is one of the leading international legal practices in Japan. Allen & Overy Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho advises on English, Japanese and US law. ( www.allenovery.com/japan )
In this press release 'Allen & Overy' means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings.
Each 'partner' contact listed above is a member of the Allen & Over LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications or an individual with equivalent status in one of Allen & Overy LLP's affiliated undertakings.
Each partner specified as '(bengoshi)' listed above refers to Japanese qualified lawyers at Allen & Overy's Tokyo office, a partnership organised under Japanese law.
Lawyers based in Japan who are admitted as Japanese qualified lawyers (bengoshi) and registered foreign lawyers in Japan (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi) are regulated by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and the Tokyo Bar Association. Lawyers based in Japan who are qualified in other jurisdictions are subject to regulation by the relevant regulatory body in their place of admission.
For more information on how members of Allen & Overy's global network are regulated, please visit our website at http://www.allenovery.com/regulatory .
For further information, please contact:
Yvonne So (Hong Kong)
Tel: +852-2974-7091
Email: yvonne.so@allenovery.com
