Morrison Foerster has further consolidated its corporate practice strength in Japan hiring private equity and M&A veteran Greg Salathé as a partner from Hong Kong-based alternative investment firm PAG, where he has served as partner and group general counsel.
“Greg will help us meet our clients’ growing need for seasoned, strategic, cross-border transactional advice. He gives a significant boost to our capabilities representing funds and companies investing in Japan and the region, further cementing our reputation as the top international law firm in Japan,” said Ken Siegel, managing partner of Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo office and head of the M&A team in the city.
With 30 years of international private equity and M&A experience, Salathé will join Morrison Foerster in September this year and will relocate to Tokyo after his admission as a registered foreign lawyer in Japan, the firm says.
Having started his legal career in New York, he has advised private funds on private equity acquisitions, buyouts as well as real estate, infrastructure and credit lending across Asia. Recognised among corporate clients for his expertise in international transactions across numerous sectors including financial services, Salathé has served in senior roles in the Asia offices of major international law firms. The private equity and M&A veteran, who has previously practised as a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Sidley Austin and Jones Day, has worked in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In October last year, Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo office saw the return of corporate partner Stephen DeCosse, who had first left his role as a partner at the firm to join Jones Day in 2006. Before rejoining Morrison Foerster, DeCosse had been a partner and later an of counsel at Jones Day’s Tokyo office for more than 17 years.
