Morgan Lewis today continues its expansion in Asia by welcoming corporate partners Motonori “Moto” Araki and Mitsuyoshi “Mitsu” Saito, resident in Tokyo. Moto has also been appointed Managing Partner of the Tokyo office.
Moto, who spent many years with Morgan Lewis and served as a partner until 2007, is one of Japan’s most highly respected international lawyers. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, intellectual property licensing, and international dispute resolution involving a variety of industries.
Mitsu advises on an array of corporate, dispute resolution, and labor and employment-related matters for Japanese and non-Japanese clients across a number of industries, including electronics, information technology, chemistry, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
“I am very pleased to welcome Moto back to our firm, and into his new role as Managing Partner for Tokyo, along with Mitsu. Together they will further solidify our services to clients in Japan and throughout the Asia-Pacific region during an exciting time for our firm in the region,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Their arrival deepens and strengthens our ability to counsel clients on a broad range of both inbound and outbound cross-border corporate and regulatory matters.”
With offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Almaty, and Astana, in addition to Tokyo, Morgan Lewis’s Asia practice continues to go from strength to strength. Moto and Mitsu’s arrival closely follows two new partners who joined the firm last month in Hong Kong and Singapore, in addition to a further partner in Beijing.
“Our clients require the services of lawyers who are skilled in handling both local and global matters, and the arrival of Moto and Mitsu perfectly fills those needs,” said Steve Browne, head of Morgan Lewis’s global corporate and business transactions practice. “Our firm and our clients will rely on them for advice on all aspects of transactions involving both Japanese and non-Japanese companies.”
More about the new partners:
Moto Araki represents buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions on cross-border transactions and assists in structuring, documenting, and negotiating those transactions. He also represents major US and Japanese companies in cross-border transactions and regulatory matters. He has done substantial work in representing Japanese corporations in US intellectual property litigation, US antitrust litigation, and other dispute resolution matters. In these representations, he counsels Japanese corporations for litigation strategies, efficient discovery, effective pleadings, and settlement negotiations.
Mitsu Saito advises on a wide range of corporate, dispute resolution, labor and employment-related issues, including structuring employment arrangements in M&A settings, drafting and reviewing employment agreements, work rules and other employment-related agreements and internal rules. He also represents clients in employment-related disputes, including dismissal cases.
Source: www.morganlewis.com
