Tokyo International Law Office Opens Its First Overseas Office In Singapore
Tokyo International Law Office Opens Its First Overseas Office in Singapore
Tokyo International Law Office (TKI) has chosen Singapore as the location for its first international expansion, with plans to open a new office in January 2024. The firm, established in 2019 by former lawyers from Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, aims to enhance its global dispute resolution capabilities as well as its corporate and M&A practices.
Koki Yamada, Co-founder and Co-managing Partner of TKI, shared that the firm’s primary focus for the Singapore office will be Asia-related international dispute resolution. He emphasized Singapore's role as a central hub for dispute settlement and investment within the Indo-Pacific region.
Yamada, who has already relocated to Singapore to head the new office, will be joined by two other lawyers specializing in dispute resolution. Earl Rivera-Dolera, TKI’s Disputes Resolution Partner, will also move to Singapore in January. Rivera-Dolera, formerly the head of the international arbitration practice at Vietnam-based law firm Frasers Law Company, will be accompanied by Associate Kosuke Nakano, a former prosecutor from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In addition to dispute resolution, TKI plans to serve Japanese companies with outbound legal needs, particularly in M&A, infrastructure, and energy in India and across Asia. Earlier this year, the firm bolstered its expertise by hiring Imran Khan, former head of Kochhar & Co’s Tokyo office, to co-lead its India and Middle East practice group.
Yamada expects a high proportion of the firm’s clients in Singapore will be Japanese companies expanding internationally. Additionally, the firm intends to attract global companies with regional headquarters in Singapore, assisting them with business expansions into Japan via M&A, infrastructure, energy, and other investment avenues.
While the Singapore office will operate under a foreign law practice license and cannot provide local legal advice, it will offer services in Japanese law and foreign laws, including those of the UK, US, and the Philippines, through the three lawyers in Singapore. The firm also intends to leverage its Tokyo team’s expertise to provide advice in various international jurisdictions, including French, Indian, and Chinese laws.
TKI has also expanded its Tokyo team, adding senior lawyers such as Jean-Denis Marx, a former M&A partner at Baker & McKenzie, and Makiko Kawamura, a former tax partner at DLA Piper and EY Japan, further strengthening its international legal offerings.
