Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) welcomes Jeremy White as a new partner, who joined the Tokyo office as of October 24. Mr. White, a Registered Foreign Lawyer (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi), will be working as a member of the Corporate / Mergers & Acquisitions practice group and will be involved mainly with cross-border commercial corporate and M&A matters.
Mr. White previously worked for a major law firm in London, and moved to their Tokyo office in August 2007 to focus mainly on outbound transactions for Japanese conglomerates, as well as inbound work for major global corporations. His experience demonstrates a wide spectrum of multi-jurisdictional M&A matters, as well as private equity transactions, joint ventures and general corporate work, and he is generally very familiar with the domestic business culture in Japan. He has spent time as a secondee at an international investment bank and a Japanese private equity house in the past.
Cross-border M&A continues to be a major focus for clients of the Tokyo office and Mr. White’s relevant experience with corporates and trading houses will be a great asset to enhancing the services that the Firm’s corporate group can offer, both domestically and internationally. His experience advising on greenfield corporate investments outside of Japan, dealing with post-merger integration issues, building proactive compliance programs, as well as handling dispute work involving Japanese entities with overseas targets and counterparties, will directly respond to current client demand and focus. In addition, Mr. White advises multinationals on work conducted within Japan and his clients include both new entrants as well as seasoned clients with established operations in Japan.
Mr. White graduated with a BA/MA(Oxon) from University College, Oxford University in the UK and with a Diploma of Legal Practice and Diploma of Law from the College of Law in the UK. He was admitted to practice in England and Wales in 2001, and in Japan as a Registered Foreign Lawyer (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi) in 2009. He is well respected in the Japan market, and is recognized as a “Key Individual” by Chambers and Partners on a consistent basis.
Commenting on Mr. White’s arrival to the Firm, Managing Partner of Baker & McKenzie Tokyo, Yoshiaki Muto, stated, “Japanese outbound M&A marked an all time high in 2012, and despite the trend of the weakening Japanese yen, the number of Japanese outbound investments is still increasing. Mr. White is a professional in Japanese outbound M&A and his industry focus is diverse, with clients from the energy, power, infrastructure and consumer products sectors. He has experience assisting Japanese companies around the world in negotiations with international companies in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as with those in North America, Latin America, and Europe. He is a unique talent in the Tokyo market based on his understanding of both Japanese and international business customs. With Mr. White joining our office, we have strengthened our Corporate / M&A practice thus enhancing our offering to clients dealing with Japanese outbound investments within our global network of 74 offices around the world.”
