Japan Team Recognized in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2023 Edition

1 minute read | January.17.2023

Japanese: The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023において高評価を取得

Orrick was once again recognized in 6 practices with 10 individual recognitions for Japan in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2023 Edition, receiving positive feedback, featuring numerous testimonials from our clients.

To view the details of the ranking results, please visit the publication’s website here.

Dispute Resolution: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 2)
Intellectual Property: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 2)
Labour and Employment: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 2)
Corporate and M&A: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 3)
Projects and Energy: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 2)
Real Estate and Construction: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Tier 2)

7 partners and 3 associates in our Tokyo office have been recognized for their continuous efforts and are ranked for each practice as below.

Shinsuke Yakura (Partner) as Leading Individual for Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property
Yoichi Katayama (Partner) as Leading Individual for Projects and Energy
Minako Wakabayashi (Partner) as Next Generation Partner for Projects and Energy
Yuko Ino (Partner) as Next Generation Partner for Real Estate
Hiroki Sugita (Partner) as Leading Individual for Corporate and M&A
Yumiko Ohta (Partner) as Next Generation Partner for Labour and Employment
Yuko Inui (Partner) as Rising Star for Projects and Energy
Mark Weeks (Senior Counsel) as Hall of Fame for Corporate and M&A
Haruka Matsumoto (Senior Associate) as Rising Star for Dispute Resolution
Anri Nakamoto (Managing Associate) as Rising Star for Intellectual Property

Related Lawyers

Minako Wakabayashi Partner, Renewable Energy, Infrastructure

Tokyo

See my bio

D:+81 3 3224 2926
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Energy & Infrastructure Sector
Renewable Energy
Infrastructure
Energy
Japan

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Minako Wakabayashi Partner

Tokyo

Minako has significant experience advising international and domestic sponsors and developers on complex and innovative projects. She was called upon by the Japanese government in structuring the renewable Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan and prepared the government’s model contracts for specific contracts (power purchase contract/interconnection contract), which are a key component of the Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan. Recently, she has also been handling numerous corporate PPA projects.

She was appointed as Auditor of the Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA) in May 2022.

Minako practiced at Orrick’s New York office in 2004-2005. She also worked as a public prosecutor in Japan for four years and served as a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Supervising Committee for Public Bidding (Tokyo-to Nyusatsu Kanshi Iinkai) for eight years. She is serving as Audit of Veritas In Silico Inc since March 2022.

Hiroki Sugita Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology Companies Group

Tokyo

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D:+81 3 3224 2953
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Mergers & Acquisitions
Technology Companies Group
Fintech

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Hiroki Sugita Partner

Tokyo

He also has extensive experience in fund formation, real estate and various types of finance transactions.

Hiroki has a deep understanding of clients’ needs from his secondment experience with a U.S. investment bank in 2005 and a Japanese major trading house from 2012 to 2014.

Prior to joining Orrick, Hiroki worked at O’Melveny’s Tokyo office as a counsel where he mainly worked on cross border M&A.

Yumiko Ohta Partner, Employment Law & Litigation, Executive Compensation

Tokyo

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D:+81 3 3224 2829
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Employment Law & Litigation
Executive Compensation
Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Mergers & Acquisitions
International Trade and Investment
Japan
Pay Equity

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Yumiko Ohta Partner

Tokyo

Yumiko also has knowledge related to international trade such as customs rules and export controls.

Before joining Orrick, Yumiko was an associate at Tanabe & Partners and advised clients in corporate transactions and employment law as well as represented clients in civil and family cases. She has experience serving as a statutory auditor for Japanese corporations. Prior to practicing law, she worked at Mitsubishi Corporation for seven years. While there, she was involved in LNG projects and other global business.

Yuko Inui Partner, Renewable Energy, Infrastructure

Tokyo

See my bio

D:+81 3 3224 2822
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Energy & Infrastructure Sector
Renewable Energy
Infrastructure
Energy
Solar Energy
Wind Energy
Real Estate
Real Estate
Japan

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Yuko Inui Partner

Tokyo

As of April 2024, Yuko has conducted legal due diligence for clients on 54 solar projects (total 1692MW) and 30 wind projects (total 2257MW) in Japan, including Japan’s largest solar project (235MW) and Japan’s largest wind project (121.6MW).

Yuko has been appointed as special member of the Environmental Preservation Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations every year since 2006.

In 2024, Yuko was recognized as Next Generation Partner for Japan in Projects and Energy: International Firms and Joint Ventures category by Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

L. Mark Weeks Senior Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Employment Law & Litigation

New York

E[email protected]

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E: [email protected]

Practice:

Mergers & Acquisitions
Employment Law & Litigation
IP Counseling & Due Diligence
Japan

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L. Mark Weeks Senior Counsel

New York

He concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, clean technology, life sciences, IT and telecommunications asset transfers, strategic investments, and general corporate representation for U.S., Japanese and other Asian companies.

Mark speaks, reads and writes fluent Japanese.

Anri Nakamoto Of Counsel, Intellectual Property, Patents

Tokyo; Washington, D.C.

See my bio

D:+81 3 3224 2089
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Intellectual Property
Patents
IP Counseling & Due Diligence
Trade Secrets Litigation

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Anri Nakamoto Of Counsel

Tokyo; Washington, D.C.

His practice focuses on representing Japanese companies in patent litigation, trade secret litigation and other intellectual property disputes. Anri also counsels clients on patent portfolio management, intellectual property strategies, adversarial patent licensing negotiations and other IP-related matters in cross-border M&A and strategic business and technology alliances.

Prior to joining Orrick, Anri worked for more than 10 years at Hitachi Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, and a Japanese sovereign patent fund management company where he gained hands-on experience in patent prosecutions, sales and purchase transactions of patent portfolios, adversarial patent licensing negotiations and litigation.

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