City-Yuwa Partners

Managing Partners: Masato Kobayashi, Haruyuki Hirata, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Arata Nomoto, Mika Okada, Tomohiro Tanamura, Yuichi Maruyama
Number of partners: 65
Number of lawyers: 164
Languages: English, German, Japanese, Korea

Firm Overview:
Founded in 2003, CITY-YUWA provides a full range of legal services to international and domestic clients. Based in Tokyo, Japan, with 160 fully-qualified Japanese lawyers, four foreign attorneys and several other professional staff including judicial scriveners and an affiliate immigration law specialist, CITY-YUWA is widely recognized as one of Japan’s prominent law firms with an established reputation for providing the highest quality of legal services to its diversified clients.

Main Areas of Practice:
Corporate & Commercial:
60 partners; 16 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
General corporate, corporate governance, venture capital/ private equity, regulatory, environmental, foreign direct investment and tax.
Contacts: Noriko Higashizawa, Mikio Tanaka, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi

Finance, Securities & Insurance:
33 partners; 6 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Banking and other financial transactions, capital markets, structured finance, acquisition finance and securitization, asset management, investment funds and J-REITs, derivative transactions, insurance, regulatory, and resolution of financial transaction disputes, including ADR.
Contacts: Junko Hirakawa, Haruyuki Hirata, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Masamichi Sakamoto, Gen Takizawa

Mergers & Acquisitions:
29 partners; 7 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Domestic and cross-border, share transfer takeover bids, restructuring of corporate groups by means of business transfer, merger, demerger, share exchange or share transfer, squeezeouts, proposing protective measures against potential hostile acquisitions, proxy fights, and large shareholding reports.
Contacts: Mikio Tanaka, Yukihiro Fujimoto, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Masamichi Sakamoto, Arata Nomoto

Real Estate & Construction:
38 partners; 4 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Real estate funds and J-REITs, real estate finance, real estate transactions, construction and real estate/construction disputes.
Contacts: Yoshiko Koizumi, Izuru Goto, Arata Nomoto, Masamichi Sakamoto, Hirosato Nabika, Yukinori Sasaki

Bankruptcy & Restructuring:
12 partners; 2 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Representation of debtors, creditors, sponsors, investors, suppliers and other business entities in restructuring and bankruptcy matters, including civil rehabilitation proceedings, corporate reorganization proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy proceedings and liquidations, and acting as a liquidator.
Contacts: Masaaki Sawano, Hirosato Nabika, Hiroyasu Horimoto

Litigation & Arbitration:
41 partners; 13 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Domestic and cross-border, and ADR (litigating and resolving disputes on various commercial transactions, real estate, financial transactions, industrial accidents including severe accident involving nuclear power plants, debt collection and execution, and family law).
Contacts: Yoshiko Koizumi, Yoko Maeda, Hitoshi Sakai

Intellectual Property:
28 partners; 8 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Patent litigation/arbitration, advice on act against unfair competition, designs, trademarks and copyrights, license agreements/technology transfer agreements, patent pool licensing, advice on patent strategy, and information and communications technology (data protection, security technology, web service, online advertisement).
Contacts: Hideo Ozaki, Nobuyuki Sakuraba, Arata Nomoto

Labour & Employment:
27 partners; 9 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
General consultations on personnel and labour matters, collective bargaining, and labour litigation and arbitration.
Contacts: Noriko Higashizawa, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Akira Nagasaki

Compliance:
21 partners; 9 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Internal controls, white collar crime, and crisis management.
Contacts: Mikio Tanaka, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi

Antitrust & Competition:
21 partners; 8 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Advice on anti-monopoly law, act against unfair competition, subcontract law and on unjustifiable premiums law, prior consultation with the JFTC, countermeasures against on-site inspection by the JFTC, countermeasures against charges by a fair trade authority abroad, and assistance in setting up compliance systems relating to competition law
Contacts: Teruhisa Ishii, Yoshihiro Sakano, Hiroaki Matsunaga

Renewable Energy:
11 partners; 1 other senior attorney based in Tokyo
Structuring project entities and transactions to best conform to the renewable energy law and its regulatory regime and energy policy, conducting legal due diligence including checking all necessary land use approvals and environmental permits, exclusivity arrangements, ground leases and easements, power purchases, grid connection, equipment supply, construction, development and joint ventures, and project finance
Contacts: Masamichi Sakamoto, Yukinori Sasaki

Investment Funds:
11 partners; 1 other senior attorney based in Tokyo
Advising regulatory and compliance matters for investment managers, trustees, administrators and distributors. The firm’s service includes advising on establishment of investment trust, Tokumei Kumiai, limited partnership and limited liability company, and filing of securities registration statements, investment management reports, large shareholding reports and notifications for specially permitted business for QIIs.
Contacts: Haruyuki Hirata, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Masamichi Sakamoto

Technology & Media:
15 partners; 4 other senior attorneys based in Tokyo
Assisting manufactures, telecommunication and Wifi service companies, IT consulting firms, especially online business and digital entertainment clients, regarding intellectual properties, privacy and data protection and industry regulations. Regularly handling joint development, alliances and mergers and acquisitions, software license, software and content development and content distribution.
Contact: Noriko Higashizawa, Arata Nomoto, Yumiko Aoi

Private Wealth:
5 partners; 1 other senior attorney based in Tokyo
Advice on international inheritance, estate planning and dispute resolutions. Offering custom made solutions to highnet-worth clients.
Contact: Hitomi Sakai