Katsumasa SUZUKI

Introduction

Katsumasa Suzuki has been recognised as a top-tier lawyer in capital markets, M&A, and corporate crisis and governmental investigation matters. Recently, he has also become active in litigation and disputes, particularly those involving activist shareholders.

He is a lawyer qualified to practise in both Japan and New York and is a certified member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan. His in-depth knowledge of business, accounting and corporate finance, combined with extensive experience in various transactions and legal matters, enables him to provide uniquely valuable legal and business advice to his clients.

Katsumasa’s confident, practical client-first approach is highly regarded for its strategic innovation by both clients and foreign law firms. He has advised on numerous “deals of the year” and first-of-their-kind transactions, and consistently wins challenging cases for his clients. Owing to this reputation and experience, he has been selected as a leading lawyer in Japan by major publications, including Who’s Who Legal, Chambers, Legal 500, IFLR, asialaw and Best Lawyers. In 2016, he was ranked among the top 10 Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers by the Financial Times – the first Japanese lawyer to receive this honour.

In 2021, he was named “Deal Maker of the Year” by Asia Legal Business (ALB), and in 2022, he was selected among Asia’s Top 15 Capital Markets Lawyers by ALB. That same year, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto won the “Creating New Standard” category in the Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyer awards, thanks to his pioneering work on IPO deals.

He publishes various articles on capital markets and M&A, which contribute to rule-making and the development of new standards. Most recently, he was selected as a member of the study group organised by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to develop Japanese SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) regulations. Katsumasa has been a member of the Securities Law Committee of the International Bar Association since 2018 and is serving as regional representative for Asia-Pacific starting in 2025. He also served as the co-chair of the 4th Asia-based International Financial Law Conference held in 2023.

He heads the capital markets practice group at the firm and leads the team with a mission of contributing to the growth of capital markets in Japan and across Asia in the best interests of clients.