Vinson & Elkins welcomes energy and projects specialist James Watson as a partner at its Tokyo office. He was formerly at Herbert Smith Tokyo, where he was its joint head of energy and infrastructure.

Watson has over 20 years of experience and his practice focuses on oil and gas exploration, power projects, LNG, petrochemicals and renewable, and infrastructure and development projects. He is UK-qualified and admitted in Japan as a gaikokuho jimu bengoshi, a foreign law specialist. 

Commenting on his new firm, Watson said in a statement: “I am thrilled to join V&E and was especially attracted to their premier energy M&A, LNG, and project development practice in Asia. The global capabilities of V&E and the depth of experience their lawyers possess deeply impressed me.”

“Over the past five years, our Asian book of business has grown significantly across all aspects of the energy industry," said James Atkin, the managing partner of V&E’s Tokyo office.  “James is a terrific addition with his background in representing Japanese companies engaged in outbound projects and transactions, most notably in the Middle East, Australia, Russia, Africa, South America and Asia. He will be a great asset to our firm in supporting Japanese clients who are expanding their businesses.”