Headquarters Tokyo, Japan No. of lawyers 407 (Oct. 2014) Major practice areas General practice Founder Toshirō Nishimura | No. of offices 10 (6 international) No. of employees 1,087 (Oct. 2014) Date founded 1966 Founded 1966 | |
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Nishimura & Asahi (西村あさひ法律事務所, Nishimura Asahi Hōritsu Jimusho) is one of the "Big Four" law firms in Japan. As of July 2013, it is the largest law firm in Japan by number of lawyers.
The firm was "founded" in 2007 by the acquisition of the Kokusai Bumon (International Division) of Asahi Law Offices (the former Asahi Koma Law Offices, itself a merger of the Masuda & Ejiri and Komatsu Koma law firms) by Nishimura & Partners (one of the "Big Four" and founded in 1966). The firm is a member of the international legal networks Lex Mundi and Pacific Rim Advisory Council.
In August 2012 it opened offices in Nagoya and Osaka to assist clients based outside of Tokyo.
The Legal 500 ranks N&A as a top tier firm in the fields of antitrust and competition law, banking and finance, capital markets, construction, projects and energy, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution, real estate and structured finance/securitisation. Chambers & Partners ranks the firm as "Band 1" in banking and finance, securitisation and structured finance, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution, real estate and restructuring/insolvency.
N&A clients include América Móvil, Citibank, France Telecom, Fuji Fire and Marine Insurance, KDDI, Microsoft, Mizuho Securities, Nippon Steel, NTT, Oriental Land, Tokyo Broadcasting System and Universal Studios Japan.
Nishimura is known for having a highly competitive internal culture, among both associates and partners. Lawyers are evaluated and ranked based on revenue generated, publication history and media exposure, and the ranking is reflected in their listing order on the firm's website.
Offices
Nishimura is headquartered in Tokyo (Ark Hills) and has domestic branch offices in Fukuoka, Nagoya (JR Central Towers) and Osaka. It also has overseas offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Singapore and Yangon.
Nishimura announced a tie-up with a Jakarta-based law firm in September 2014, making it the first major Japanese law firm to have an affiliated office in Indonesia. Nishimura also provides advice on Indonesian law to Japanese clients from its offices in Tokyo and Singapore.