Miura & Partners, through its strategic partner Miura & Partners US, has expanded its office network in America with the launch of its second branch in Seattle, marking the firm’s rapid global expansion drive in recent years.
The Tokyo-based firm, which first entered the US legal market with the launch of its San Francisco office in 2023, told Asia Business Law Journal that the decision to establish a second US base in Seattle was to tap potential work from a growing trend of Japanese companies expanding into America to conduct business in both Seattle and California.
“The collaboration between the San Francisco and Seattle offices, which are based in the top two states on the West Coast in terms of the number of Japanese companies, will enable Miura & Partners US to expand its legal services in the US.”
With two bases on the West Coast, the firm strives to further broaden its clientele through its strengths in advising on M&A and expansion into the US and Japan, cross-border business transactions, tax, intellectual property and employment. The targeted clients range from publicly listed companies in Japan and the US, startups and government agencies to non-profit organisations within Japanese and US communities.
Another key reason for choosing Seattle as the place for further US legal market expansion was the recent addition of Eriko Baxter, a lawyer with extensive experience and admission in Washington State, the firm told Asia Business Law Journal.
As the managing attorney for the Seattle office, Baxter joined Miura & Partners US in February this year after more than eight years of running her own practice in Seattle, Baxter Law International. Baxter started her legal career as a legal specialist at Toshiba Corporation in 1993 and later served as an attorney at IBM Corporation in Tokyo and Seattle.
Baxter has years of experience practising law in Seattle, including working as a senior counsel at Desh International Law and founding her own legal practice in 2016. She specialises in advising on M&A, IP, information technology and entertainment, international practice and trade law, as well as employment and labour regulations.
“The Seattle area is home to huge companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and Costco, and has a well-developed business infrastructure. It is also a strong candidate for Japanese companies looking to establish a base in the US, as it is located on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean.”
In the Seattle office, Baxter provides services related to Washington State law in addition to federal law concerning business and employment, trademark and copyright law, which are not stipulated in state law. Partners Naomi Koshi and Norika Yuasa from Miura & Partners’ Tokyo office, who will regularly travel between Japan and the US to provide Japanese law support to clients, will support Baxter.
Working in tandem with the San Francisco office led by managing attorney Tasha Yorozu on the Miura & Partners US team, Baxter will advise clients on matters including corporate law, M&A, technology licensing and commercial transactions, international taxation, IP, employment law and dispute resolution.
