IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

The firm, in the words of one foreign law practitioner in Tokyo, is "my favorite go-to local firm", with Satoshi Inoue mentioned as "one of the most active local lawyers in the market".

The firm's standing is built on the impact and reputation of partners such as Inoue, who is highlighted for his leveraged finance practice.

Alongside straight banking and acquisition finance mandates the firm can also point to a strong regulatory practice, which acts both as a standalone practice and in conjunction with the financial and corporate teams.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune recently saw experienced of counsel Akiko Kimura take a step back from co-heading the capital markets practice. This will certainly present some challenges for the team, as a peer notes, "Hironori Shibata is the successor, but he has big shoes to fill." Others question whether the team has the depth of team to withstand the competition and maintain its top tier ranking.

Clients do not seem overly concerned though: "Anderson Mori is my favourite domestic firm for capital markets transactions. They are involved in almost all the important domestic and cross-border transactions as underwriters counsel. They have the expertise and they are willing to fight to protect investors' interests. All the partners are excellent capital markets lawyers," says one.

Deals
Osamu Hirakawa recently advised Barclays on its first-time issue of listing of Japanese depositary receipts (JDR), based on exchange traded notes (ETN), on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). This was a novelty in the market and presented numerous regulatory complications relating to, among other issues, disclosure obligations and a possible need for a securities registration statement. The transaction has since become a precedent for other JDR listings.

In another deal, Hironori Shibata advised Takeda, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan, on its first straight bonds issue in almost four decades. The net proceeds of this offering were ¥190 billion ($1.1 billion).

On the equity side, a sizeable transaction was Nexon's IPO on the TSE. The company is one of the leaders in the global online games industry and it was valued at ¥98 billion. Shibata acted as counsel for Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, Nomura Securities and Goldman Sachs International.

Anderson Mori, as well as possessing an established reputation in this area in its own right among Japanese clients is also seen as a good local counsel option by international firms.

Tatsu Katayama is recognised as "a derivatives specialist" and well respected in the market: "Katayama is an excellent Japanese lawyer, one of the few that understands the foreign firms' world," says one peer.

Isao Shindo, while also active in the practice, is also mentioned by peers as "a very good lawyer for compliance work".

Deals
The firm's Takashi Akahane and Kenichi Yamamoto advised as borrower's counsel on a ¥200 billion ($2.5 billion) refinancing transaction for CMBS backed by a famous commercial building in central Tokyo. This deal was significant as distressed CMBS issued in 2007 were successfully refinanced despite current market turmoil. Given the deal size, the transaction is likely to be one of the largest in 2012 in this area. A large number of domestic and international financial institutions were involved in several tranches of the debt financing.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is the closest contender for the top tier ranking among other firms in the same category. In the team, the partner fetching accolades from a number of peers is Kenichi Masuda, with other known names being Osamu Hirakawa and Masaakira Kitazawa.

Deals
The team was involved as legal counsel for the buyer in the $2.7 billion merger of the private banking business in Japan conducted between Credit Suisse and HSBC. As a result of the deal, Credit Suisse Japan will form one of the largest private banking divisions in Japan in terms of the value of its assets under management.

Acting as Japanese law counsel for AMP, the firm was part of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation's A$425 Million ($4.1 million) acquisition of 15% of the shares in AMP Capital Holdings - an asset management subsidiary of the client, to form a capital and business alliance.

Hiroki Kodate and Kazuhiro Yoshii meanwhile provided legal Counsel to Cedyna Financial Corporation (Cedyna) in a transaction that saw SMFG Card & Credit (FGCC) and Cedyna Financial Corporation, a consolidated subsidiary of FGCC, implement a $630 million share exchange, which resulted in Cedyna becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of FGCC.

The firm also was also counsel for CSK Corporation, the target company in the deal that saw Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo) and SCSK make a discounted tender offer for shares in CSK to Godo Kaisha ACA Investments (ACAI). CSK and SCSK have entered into a merger agreement that is conditional on the completion of the tender offer.

For the Gibraltar Life Insurance Company, Isao Shindo and Nobuyuki Maeyama acted on the significant tripartite merger between AIG Edison Life Insurance, the Gibraltar Life Insurance Company and AIG Star Life Insurance.

"They are definitely my favorite local lawyers," confesses a foreign lawyer. "On inbound work, they are good," says another. Partner Takashi Akahane is highlighted as a pioneer in public-private partnerships (PPP) and private finance initiatives (PFI) all the way back to its establishment in 1997.

Deals
Among the larger deals, Takashi Akahane and Reiji Takahashi advised Tokyo International Air Terminal on the financing of a passenger terminal for international flights at Tokyo Haneda International Airport. The project is valued around $1.5 billion, which includes a refinancing of $1 billion. The client is an SPV created for the construction and the management of the passenger terminal for international flights at Haneda Airport.