Herbert Smith is consistently recognised as being one of the leading law firms in Japan and has more registered foreign lawyers in Tokyo than any other European firm. The Tokyo office opened in 2000 and has a team of eight partners and over 50 fee-earners in total, a little under half of whom are fluent Japanese speakers.
The office provides advice to its client base of major Japanese companies on international transactions, projects and disputes, and foreign international corporations doing business and investing in Japan.
We provide advice to our Japanese and international clients across three principal practice areas:
- M&A (including competition law and merger control)
- dispute resolution (including litigation, arbitration and other forms of ADR, and the only specialist public international law practice in Asia)
- energy, infrastructure and mining (advising on project development, joint ventures, acquisitions and disposals and project financing)
We are regularly ranked in the top tier for each of these areas and are also recognised for our specialist employment, construction, IP and PIL practices in Tokyo. In addition to these key areas of focus, our experience is particularly strong across a number of sectors including TMT, financial services, oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, power, chemicals, publishing and construction / heavy engineering.
Our work centres on multi-jurisdictional matters for major Japanese and multinational corporations and we work in close collaboration with our network of international offices. We provide further European coverage through our long-standing relationships with leading law firms Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe. Our recent work for Canon was a good example of this: when Canon made its public offer for Océ, our Tokyo office co-led the deal with Stibbe Amsterdam and the team also included colleagues from Herbert Smith Paris and from Gleiss Lutz offices in Germany.
For further information about our Tokyo office, please contact Peter Godwin, Managing Partner.
Accolades
International Arbitration Law Firm of the year
Asian Legal Business Law Awards 2011
Litigation and Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year - Japan
International Arbitration Firm of the Year - Japan
Energy and Natural Resources Firm of the Year - Japan
Projects and Project Financing Firm of the Year - Japan
Most Responsive International Firm of the Year - Japan
Asian-Mena Counsel 2012
"This firm continues to stand at the forefront of the dispute resolution market"
Chambers Asia Pacific 2011
"The [Tokyo] team is not only brilliant in energy and infrastructure projects but also very well known for its excellent dispute resolution and corporate practices"
Chambers Asia Pacific 2011
"This [projects] practice is recognised as an all-round leader in this field, advising on energy, infrastructure and mining"
Chambers Asia Pacific 2011
Ranked first tier for three consecutive years in Employment, Japan
Chambers Asia Pacific 2011
Ranked first tier for Construction, Japan
Chambers Asia Pacific 2011
Ranked first tier for three consecutive years in Project Finance, Japan
IFLR 1000 2010-2012
"One of the best energy firms in the game"
IFLR 1000 2012
"Herbert Smith has strong M&A practitioners on the ground in Tokyo"
IFLR 1000 2011
Ranked first tier for nine consecutive years in Dispute Resolution, Japan
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2004-2012
Ranked first tier for nine consecutive years in Projects and Energy, Japan
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2004-2012
"Herbert Smith’s ‘responsiveness, ability to quickly grasp the core of the case and client-friendliness is excellent’. ‘The team is well-organised and highly motivated and accordingly provides top-quality services’. "
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2012
"Herbert Smith has an impressive depth of experience within the energy, infrastructure and mining sectors and the capability to advise clients, on the ground in Tokyo, through the lifecycle of major transactions and projects"
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2012
"The firm advises Japanese clients investing and doing business overseas as well as international clients establishing and operating in Japan and includes expertise on international merger control and antitrust issues"
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2012
"It has sector expertise in a number of areas, such as energy, TMT, infrastructure, financial services and heavy industry"
Asia Law Profiles 2012
"It's the best and brightest dispute resolution team in Tokyo among those of all the American and European firms"
Asia Law Profiles 2011
Ranked as a Top Tier Firm for Dispute Resolution (international firms) - Japan
Ranked as a Top Tier Firm for Energy & Natural Resources - Japan
Asia Law Profiles 2012