Japan’s Big Four Push Deeper into Europe as East–West Dealmaking Intensifies

Japan's legal titans are expanding across Europe, opening offices in London, Brussels, Paris, and Frankfurt to cash in on an East-West dealmaking boom that's reshaping global law, Law.com's Rick Mitchell writes. 

Big Four Japanese firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto hasn’t yet launched its European office—the target date is September 1—but it already has “strong” relationships with top U.K. and European firms, said corporate M&A partner Yosuke Higashi. Mori Hamada collaborates with London-headquartered Slaughter and May and top German firms Hengeler Mueller and Gleiss Lutz, which it hooked up with via transaction referrals and international legal associations. 

CLLS Chair Colin Passmore said most Japanese lawyers opening offices in London are not U.K. bar certified, as their focus is on Japanese law. “Unlike American firms, they’re not coming to compete directly with English lawyers.”