Leading Japanese and Australian Firms Strike Alliance

Anthony Lin

The American Lawyer

10-04-2010

Leading Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson and top Japanese firm Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu announced Thursday that they have struck a cooperative alliance to provide legal advice to Japanese companies doing business Down Under and in Southeast Asia.

The deal is aimed at providing a more unified service offering to Japanese clients investing in Australia and Southeast Asia. Though Chinese investment, particularly in Australian mining assets, has received most of the attention in recent years, Japanese companies have long been highly active in the region.

"Given Allens’ extensive presence and experience in the region and [Nagashima Ohno’s] superb client base in Japan, we see significant advantages in working together to offer more to Japanese clients,"  Allens chief executive partner Michael Rose said in a statement.

The firms, which will remain structurally and financially independent, are leaders in their respective markets. Allens Arthur, with some 900 lawyers, is generally regarded as one of Australia’s top three firms, alongside Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Freehills. NO&T, with 350 lawyers, is considered one of Tokyo’s “Big Four” law firms, a group that also includes Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto.

Allens Arthur, like other Australian firms, has in recent years focused increasingly on Asia, where it competes with the major British and American firms. It has built offices in China, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. NO&T has made its own smaller step onto the global stage, opening a New York office with two partners last month.