Atsumi & Sakai has expanded its presence in Europe with the launch of a Brussels office, marking the Tokyo-based firm’s third European outfit after London and Frankfurt.
The new Brussels office will be led by representative partner Etsuko Kameoka, an attorney admitted in New York and the Brussels Bar (B-List), who joined Atsumi & Sakai’s Frankfurt affiliate office as a partner in March last year.
Kameoka, who is not a registered foreign lawyer in Japan, was previously a senior counsel at Brussels-based competition law firm Geradin Partners and a counsel at Europe law practice Van Bael & Bellis that specialises in EU competition law.
The main practice areas at the Tokyo-based law firm’s European offices cover a wide range of areas, including EU competition law concerning matters relating to cartels and business combination regulations, among others. EU trade laws are another key practice area, covering advice on customs law, economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations, economic sanctions and foreign direct investment regulations.
Atsumi & Sakai is not the only Japanese law firm to have recently expanded into Brussels. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, which made a foray into Europe launching a London office in 2022, established its second European outfit in Brussels in April this year.
