Clifford Chance has appointed Reiko Sakimura and Leng-Fong Lai as co-managing partners of its Tokyo office. The pair will take the reins from Eiichi Kanda, who had led the Tokyo office since 2012.
Sakimura, who was the firm’s capital markets head in Tokyo, specialises in international debt and equity offerings, while Lai’s focus is on debt capital markets, as well as structured finance, asset-backed securities and derivatives. Sakimura joined Clifford Chance in 2009 from Linklaters, and Lai relocated to Tokyo in 2005 after joining the firm in 2000.
The Tokyo office also recently made another management change, hiring Peter Coney as head of its litigation and dispute resolution practice from Big Four Japanese firm Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu.
Clifford Chance was one of a handful of firms that grew their presence in Japan last year. The Magic Circle firm was ranked the fifth-largest international firm in Japan in ALB's Top 50 largest law firm ranking in 2017 with 46 lawyers, including nine partners.
Some of the recent work the firm did in Japan includes advising investors on Toshiba's $5.4 billion share placement, and Frasers Hospitality on its S$250 million investment to develop a new serviced residence in Tokyo's Ginza district.
