Japan Practice

Our lawyers represent Japanese, US, and global clients in a range of corporate transactions, including M&A, divestitures, and joint ventures. Our clients include major manufacturers, investment funds, trading firms, technology companies, life science companies, and energy companies. From planning to execution, our lawyers work closely with clients to define and address the often complex legal, business, tax, and cultural issues arising in Japan-related cross-border transactions.

We represent major financial institutions, funds, institutional investors, corporations, leasing companies, and governmental entities in a broad range of financial transactions including structured, derivative, and swap deals, as well as financial regulatory matters and investigations in Japan, the United States, and around the world.

Our litigators have a long history of representing Japanese corporations in disputes and investigations throughout the world, including civil and commercial disputes and antitrust, intellectual property, employment, regulatory, and product liability matters. We also provide Japanese clients with a full range of ediscovery and other litigation support services both in the United States and on the ground in Japan. We regularly advise US and other global companies regarding disputes and investigations in or relating to Japan, and we have experience assisting clients with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other compliance matters and internal investigations.

Morgan Lewis works with Japanese, US, and other global clients to develop, manage, and protect their global IP assets. We enforce IP rights against infringement and dilution, address misappropriation and license violations, and defend our clients’ rights to maximize their intellectual property globally. Our team includes litigators with experience in a range of technologies who are located in offices around the world. We focus on IP disputes related to patent, trademark, design patent, copyright, antitrust, and unfair competition issues. We advise on infringement and validity issues, and provide guidance on licensing and related agreements. We also advise on a wide range of technology transactions, including licensing, strategic alliances and other collaborations, development agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and issues relating to online businesses.

Morgan Lewis is widely recognized for its experience in international antitrust and trade regulation law and litigation. Our lawyers have experience representing Japanese clients in international cartel and price-fixing investigations. We also advise on antitrust and trade issues arising under US, Japanese, and other global laws regarding mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, technology licensing, distribution, and franchise transactions. Our clients have access to lawyers with relevant government experience in both the United States and Japan.

Our lawyers provide strategic and tactical labor and employment advice to Japanese, US, and other global businesses. We advise both Japanese businesses operating globally and global businesses operating in Japan on a range of labor and employment issues, including reductions in force, employee terminations, discrimination, trade secret and unfair competition matters, and labor-related disputes. We also help clients develop and review employment policies and benefits.

Our financial restructuring lawyers regularly engage in cross-border restructuring and insolvency transactions and have represented clients in some of Japan’s largest restructurings and insolvencies.

We represent clients in complex real estate transactions in the United States, Japan, and globally. We routinely handle real estate transactions and disputes related to corporate mergers and acquisitions, securitizations, restructurings, and joint ventures.

Our asset management group provides assistance in the United States, Japan, Asia, and globally to clients in all aspects of investment fund formation and investment transactions by investment funds, including acquisition and sale of portfolio assets of investment funds.

Our team brings together Japan-licensed lawyers based in our Tokyo office, US-trained lawyers in Tokyo and in the United States, and European lawyers to represent sponsors or general partners in the fund formation and structuring of hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, and mutual funds. In addition, we also represent investors in connection with their consideration of an investment in an investment fund. Our investment fund clients also rely on us to provide legal services and advice in connection with their investment activities, such as the acquisition or disposition of portfolio companies.

Our lawyers support pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies in all aspects of their businesses. We are experienced regarding the legal, regulatory, and practical issues that life science companies deal with when they enter foreign markets, and we work with many Japanese, US, and global life science companies as they expand their global businesses, advising on corporate, regulatory, and intellectual property issues; mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and development and collaboration agreements.

Our securities and capital markets lawyers advise Japanese, US, and global clients on virtually every aspect of the equity and debt securities markets, including structured and derivative securities. Our clients include issuing companies, investment banks, and institutional investors. The variety of transactions includes conventional underwritten debt and equity offerings, direct placements, block trades, bought deals, and at-the-market equity offerings and private placements. Our team includes many lawyers with experience working at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Japan’s Financial Services Agency, and other global regulators.

Major participants in every sector of the energy market—oil and gas, conventional electric, nuclear, renewable energy, and water—turn to our energy team for a broad range of corporate, finance, transactional, regulatory, and litigation services. Our team handles sophisticated energy transactions and regulatory matters in Japan, the United States, and around the globe on the full range of inbound and outbound legal issues.