Full-service Japanese law firm Miura & Partners has opened an office in the country’s fourth largest city of Nagoya, adding to its three existing locations in Tokyo and another in Hiroshima.

The firm has already been providing legal advice including on dispute resolution and M&A to clients in the Tokai region, of which Nagoya is the principal city,  and said that through opening an office there it aimed to provide ‘more comprehensive’ legal support to companies in the region.

Speaking of the decision, firm founder Ryota Miura said: “Nagoya is home to a multitude of blue-chip companies, including many in the automobile industry. In order to provide these companies with finely tuned legal services in a timely manner, we concluded that it was necessary to establish a local office.”

The Nagoya team will be made up of four lawyers for the time being – partners Shunichi Kamiya, Keiko Komatsu and Tomoyuki Matsui and counsel Yoshie Sakono.

The practices of all three partners include M&A and corporate governance and commercial disputes, though each has their own areas of focus such as finance, employment and labour regulation and technology and entertainment. Sakano’s practice is based on disputes, crisis management and tax law.

Kamiya is the office’s most senior lawyer, though in respone to the question of who would be heading the team in Nagoya the firm said that it has ‘intentionally not created a hierarchical relationship’, as each of the lawyers is highly skilled in their respective fields.

The firm, which currently boasts 44 partners and 17 associates, also said that it is keen to expand the office but has not set a timeline to do so, adding that ‘our immediate goal is to create maximum impact with the current team.’

Kamiya commented: "On a day-to-day basis, Nagoya office members will build relationships with clients and potential clients, earning their trust," adding that they would work with colleagues from across the whole firm when handling cases to ensure an efficient service. 

Miura & Partners is also set to launch the “Asia Project” at the beginning of next month. Led by partner Ryoichi Inoue, head of the Southeast Asia/South Asia practice, and based in Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, the project is meant to provide ‘one-stop full coverage service’ for companies doing business in the region.

In other recent Japan moves, Morrison & Foerster, Japan’s ninth largest law firm by lawyer headcount, added litigation partner Takahiro Nonaka in Tokyo from DLA Piper. And fellow US firm Hunton Andrews Kurth hired nuclear power projects lawyer George Borovas from Shearman & Sterling as its new Tokyo office managing partner and nuclear energy practice chair.