Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, which has recently announced the launch of a foreign law joint enterprise, confirmed with Asia Business Law Journal that there were already foreign law attorneys who had joined the firm as equal partners.
The exact number of the firm’s overseas-admitted lawyers who are now equal partners, or in the same position as Japan-admitted partners, has not been disclosed.
“We plan to proactively hire (foreign law attorneys as equal partners) going forward,” a spokesperson of the firm told Asia Business Law Journal.
The Tokyo-based firm added that the decision to launch a foreign law joint enterprise reflected its intention to now work together with foreign law attorneys to drive international business development even more proactively.
The launch of a foreign law joint enterprise model is part of the firm’s rebranding exercise, involving changes including a logo update to “Mori Hamada” as well as its website.
Japanese law defines a foreign law joint enterprise as one jointly operated by a registered foreign lawyer or a registered foreign lawyer corporation and an attorney-at-law or a legal professional corporation under a partnership contract.
Mori Hamada stated on 23 December that “the creation of this foreign law joint enterprise allows lawyers admitted in jurisdictions outside Japan to join our partnership as equal partners”. But the firm has not disclosed if equal partners are the same as equity partners, and whether or not there is a distinction between equity partners and non-equity partners.
Mori Hamada, which was founded in 1949 and was one of Japan’s largest law firms, currently had 170 foreign law attorneys and 588 Japan-admitted lawyers, the firm said. Of the 170 foreign law attorneys, 12 are registered as foreign lawyers in Japan, according to data from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations as of 7 January 2025. New York-qualified international arbitration partner Daniel Allen, and China and New York-qualified M&A partner Shi Kang are among those registered in Japan.
The 12 Japan-registered foreign lawyers cover multiple jurisdictions such as India, England and Wales, US, Taiwan, Canada, mainland China and the Philippines, covering practice areas from M&A, corporate, energy, projects and dispute resolution to restructuring, intellectual property, TMT, finance and international trade.
Outside of Japan, Mori Hamada – which currently operates via direct branches and strategic alliances in the US, China, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines – also announced at the end of November 2024 the launch of a San Francisco Bay Area office as the firm’s second US outfit scheduled to open this year.
