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Nine Morrison & Foerster Lawyers Recognized by Legal 500 Hall of Fame Asia Pacific

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The Legal 500 has named nine Morrison & Foerster lawyers in Japan to its inaugural Asia Pacific Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise from their clients for continued excellence and have been listed as leading individuals in their practice area for at least eight consecutive years.

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The Legal 500 has named nine Morrison & Foerster lawyers in Japan to its inaugural Asia Pacific Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise from their clients for continued excellence and have been listed as leading individuals in their practice area for at least eight consecutive years.We congratulate the following individuals for their continued success and admire their commitment to outstanding client service.<ul><li>Ken Siegel, Corporate and M&A: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Gary Smith, Corporate and M&A: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Stanley Yukevich, Corporate and M&A: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Dale Caldwell, Projects and energy: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Joshua Isenberg, Real estate and construction: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Kei Amemiya, Antitrust and competition: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Max Olson, Dispute resolution: International firms and joint ventures; Intellectual property: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Michael Graffagna, Projects and energy: International firms and joint ventures</li><li>Theodore Seltzer, Real estate and construction: International firms and joint ventures</li></ul>Receiving 9 practice area rankings and 47 individual recognitions in the 2020 edition of Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Morrison & Foerster’s Tokyo office is the largest of any international firm in Japan, with over 60 Japanese bengoshi and 60 U.S. attorneys who team with the firm’s global network to advise on Japan’s most significant inbound and outbound transactions, investigations, and disputes. Our lawyers are the go-to advisors for Japan’s leading industrial, technology, and telecommunications companies, including SoftBank, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Toshiba.

Nine Morrison & Foerster Lawyers Recognized by Legal 500 Hall of Fame Asia Pacific

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Ken Siegel is the managing partner of Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo office and the head of the office’s 50-attorney M&A team. Ken’s practice focuses on the representation of high-technology companies in acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.Ken has been consistently ranked as one of the leading U.S. attorneys in Japan. Among other things, he is the only attorney rated as a “Star Individual” for M&A in Japan (the level above Band 1) by Chambers Global, having been ranked at this level for 13 consecutive years (2011–2024 editions), and having been ranked in Band 1 for the prior decade. According to Chambers Asia-Pacific, Ken is “commercial and pragmatic, an incredible M&A attorney” who “deserves tremendous credit for his M&A practice” and has “outstanding acumen, experience and leadership.”Ken has appeared on CNBC and PBS’s Nightly Business Report in their coverage of Japanese legal developments, as well as on the cover of The American Lawyer in its survey of global law firms. Ken was also recognized by The American Lawyer as “Dealmaker of the Week” for his work on Hitachi’s $5 billion sale of its hard disk-drive business to Western Digital as well as for his work on SoftBank’s $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint, a transaction that was named the Global M&A Deal of the Year by The American Lawyer. In 2014, he was recognized by Chambers Asia-Pacific for outstanding contribution to the legal profession, one of only two attorneys to receive such an award in Asia.Ken received his B.A. magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1981. He studied Japanese language at Stanford University’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language in Tokyo and at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), receiving a graduate degree in International Affairs in 1983. He received his J.D. degree in 1986 from the University of Chicago Law School.<h4>Select Rankings</h4>Ken’s recent notable awards include:<ul><li>Most Innovative Legal Practitioner in Asia-Pacific (Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Award 2022)</li></ul><ul dir="ltr"><li>Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Global 2024)</li><li dir="ltr">Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024)</li><li>Hall of Fame for Japan: Corporate and M&A (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024)</li><li>Market Leader for Japan: M&A (IFLR1000 2024)</li><li>Corporate, M&A Law, Private Equity, Private Funds and Venture Capital Law [The Best Lawyers in Japan (Recognized since 2009)]</li><li>Foreign Lawyer of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2018)</li><li>Tokyo Managing Partner of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2017)</li></ul>

Kenneth A. Siegel

Partner

Gary has 30 years of experience advising clients on cross-border M&A and financing transactions. He has particular experience in the life sciences, tech, and media industries, where he has led on numerous inbound and outbound buyouts, joint ventures, and minority investments. Gary has advised on acquisitions in India, China, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia, as well as in Europe and the United States. He counsels a variety of clients, including Daiwa Securities Group, FUJIFILM, the Hitachi Group, Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities, and Taisho Pharmaceutical.Gary was born in Japan and is fluent in Japanese. During his law studies at Columbia University, he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar and a recipient of the Recognition of Achievement in International Law, with Honors. Gary also attended the University of Tokyo Graduate School from 1985 to 1987 as a Japan Ministry of Education Scholar.Gary is ranked as a Band 1 leading lawyer by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific for his M&A and corporate law expertise. Gary has also been selected as a Stand-out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters 2023, selected every year for the A-List Japan’s Top 100 Lawyers by Asia Business Law Journal since 2021, and consistently selected as a leading lawyer in M&A and corporate law in Japan by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (Hall of Fame), IFLR1000, and Best Lawyers. In Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) 2023 and 2024, he was selected as Thought Leaders for M&A in Japan.

Gary Mitchel Smith

Stan Yukevich is a corporate partner based in the firm's Tokyo office. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, private equity and venture capital investments, and general corporate representation and counselling. Stan works with clients across a range of industries, with significant experience with technology companies.Stan is recommended as a leading M&A lawyer in Japan by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, and IFLR1000. He is also listed in the Hall of Fame for Japan: Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and is recognized by the Japan edition of Best Lawyers in the categories of Corporate and M&A, and Private Equity, Private Funds, and Venture Capital.Stan teaches courses on business contracts drafting at Temple Law School’s Tokyo campus and on M&A at Hitotsubashi University’s Graduate School of Law, and has lectured on M&A topics at Waseda University.Stan's representative transactions include the following:<ul><li>Hitachi and Hitachi Appliances in their formation of a global air conditioning joint venture with Johnson Controls, integrating the companies’ HVAC businesses.</li><li>Toshiba in its $2.3 billion acquisition of Landis+Gyr AG, a leading provider of advanced electricity and other utility meters and related solutions for the smart grid, and Toshiba’s subsequent divestiture of its interest in Landis+Gyr through the company’s listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange.</li><li>Daiwa House in its acquisition of a majority ownership interest in Trumark Companies, a leading California developer and homebuilder.</li><li>Secure-24, a subsidiary of NTT Communications, in its acquisition of Symmetry, a leading SAP managed service provider.</li><li>NTT in its acquisition of Solutionary, a leading pure-play managed security services provider for IT infrastructures, applications, networks, and cloud and mobile environments.</li><li>SBI Holdings and its subsidiary photonamic GmbH & Co. in the acquisition of NX Development, to advance photonamics’ U.S. business for GleolanTM, an agent for visualization of malignant tissue during surgery.</li><li>New Relic, a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for application performance management, in its establishment of a Japan joint venture with Japan Cloud.</li><li>NTT DATA in its acquisition of Keane International, a global outsource provider of IT services relating to custom application development and management, enterprise application services, infrastructure solutions, and business processes.</li><li>Toshiba TEC in its $850 million acquisition of IBM’s global retail point-of-sale systems and solutions business.</li><li>Terumo Corporation in its $2.6 billion acquisition of CaridianBCT, a leading provider of blood collection, treatment and related products. </li><li>Toshiba in its $600 million global joint venture with General Electric for the manufacture and sale of industrial drive products.</li><li>Hitachi in its acquisition of a majority stake in M-Tech Information Technologies, a leading provider of identity management software and services headquartered in Calgary, Canada.</li><li>Intel Capital in its venture capital investments in Gengo, a web-based provider of translation services, and Cloudian, a provider of storage software solutions for the cloud environment.</li><li>Citigroup Principal Investments Japan in its sale of the Niseko Village ski resort and facility in Hokkaido, Japan to YTL Hotels and Properties, a leading Malaysian hotel and resort company.</li><li>Nikon in its acquisition by cash takeover bid of Metris NV, a Belgian maker of precision measuring equipment for the aerospace and other manufacturing industries.</li><li>NTT DoCoMo in its acquisitions of Guam Cellular & Paging and Guam Wireless, two leading wireless communications providers on Guam.</li><li>Daifuku in its acquisition of Jervis B. Webb Company, a world leader in airport baggage and material handling systems.</li><li>Advanced Semiconductor Engineering in its acquisition of NEC Electronics’ semiconductor packaging and testing facilities in Takahata, Japan.</li></ul>

Stan Yukevich

Dale Caldwell is a partner in the firm’s Finance Group. His practice focuses on a broad variety of sophisticated financing transactions, including: project finance, in which he represents lenders, project sponsors and construction contractors in connection with development and financing of infrastructure projects around the world; and LBO/MBO and other acquisition finance, in which he regularly represents lenders and both strategic and financial buyers. Dale also has substantial experience advising companies on cross-border M&A, joint venture and strategic alliance transactions. Dale previously served as the co-chair of the firm’s Global Finance Department.

Dale E. Caldwell

Joshua Isenberg is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Group. Josh’s practice includes a wide variety of real estate transactions, including senior and mezzanine financing, acquisitions, sales, construction and development matters, joint ventures, and ground leases.Josh has represented a broad range of institutional and private clients in connection with office, industrial, hotel, retail, mixed-use and multi-family projects.Josh is ranked for Real Estate in Japan by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024. He is also listed in the Hall of Fame for Japan: Real Estate in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>SEKISUI HOUSE, LTD., in its $468 million acquisition of U.S. homebuilder Woodside Homes Company, LLC.</li><li>NORTH AMERICA SEKISUI HOUSE, LLC, the U.S. business operations unit and full subsidiary of SEKISUI HOUSE, LTD., in acquisitions and joint ventures related to residential development projects across the United States.</li><li>Deutsche Bank AG Tokyo Branch on multiple non-recourse loan facilities for the construction of large scale photovoltaic power projects in Japan.</li><li>Fortress Investment Group in multiple acquisitions, dispositions of real estate assets and financings on properties and portfolios located throughout Japan. </li><li>A Japanese institutional investor in acquisition and joint venture related to residential development properties in Chicago and logistic facilities in Dallas.</li><li>A large Japanese bank in the refinancing of mortgage and mezzanine loans to a US entity, secured by a portfolio of iconic hotels and resorts in Hawaii and San Francisco.</li></ul>

Joshua Robert Isenberg

Max Olson is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and Litigation Department. Max’s practice includes all aspects of dispute resolution with special emphasis on patent litigation, international arbitration, trade secret litigation, sports litigation, and adversarial patent license negotiations. Max served as the chair of the Tokyo office Litigation Department from 2006 to 2013, and managing partner of the Los Angeles office from 2004 through 2006.Max recently led the firm’s patent litigation teams on behalf of JOLED Inc. in the global enforcement of its OLED display patents against Samsung’s Galaxy phones through parallel litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Case No. 6:20-cv-559) and the Japan Customs Office. Max also led the firm’s patent litigation teams defending infringement actions brought by Samsung Display and/or its affiliate, Intellectual Keystone Technology, against JOLED and its customers, including ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and ASUS Computer Int’l, in ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-1257 (In re Certain Organic Light-Emitting Diode Displays, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same) and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Case Nos. 6:21-cv-00017 and 6:21-cv-00053).Max led the firm’s litigation and arbitration teams on behalf of Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (“FSL”) in a global dispute with Cypress Semiconductor over the intellectual property rights in and ownership of thousands of photomasks used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Max defeated Cypress’s motion for injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in a significant victory for FSL (Cypress Semiconductor Corp. v. FSL, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32907 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 25, 2020)) and, filed counterclaims against Cypress in an arbitration before the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association.Max represented Mitsui Chemicals in trade secret litigation involving irrigation systems in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida which included a successful motion by Max to dismiss the unfair trade practices, unfair competition, fraud, and conspiracy claims (Developmental Techs. LLC v. Mitsui Chems., Inc., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64630 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 15, 2019)).Max represented U.S. Olympic gymnast Paul Hamm before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, the world’s highest court for resolving sports disputes, in the highly publicized dispute over the gold medal in the men’s individual all-around event in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A panel of three CAS arbitrators rejected the appeal filed by the bronze medalist, Korean gymnast Yang Tae Young, and held unanimously that Mr. Hamm should keep his gold medal. Max also led the firm’s arbitration team on behalf of a mixed martial arts fighter and obtained an award from the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association releasing the fighter from an unfavorable contract with his promoter.Max has also represented Fujitsu, FSL, Socionext, Konica Minolta, TDK, Yamaha, Micron Memory Japan, Advantest, Sega, and other major corporations in various adversarial patent license negotiations against some of the world’s largest patent holders.Max is currently serving as the President of The Tokyo IP American Inn of Court for 2021-22. He is also a registered gaikokuho-jimu-bengoshi and a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association, the Litigation Section and Intellectual Property Law Section of the American Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.Max received his M.A. and B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan.

Max Olson

Michael Graffagna is a partner in the firm’s Finance Department. Mike’s practice focuses on representing sponsors and developers in the development, acquisition, divestment, and financing of large infrastructure projects, having frequently led client representations in some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects across Asia and the Americas.Mike is a trusted advisor and consistently ranked as a leading lawyer in Japan for projects and energy by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and IFLR1000. Clients comment that he is “one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with . . .  ”  and is “a great negotiator and always finds the best way to put forward our needs."He has worked on a wide range of project types, including renewable (solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric) and conventional (gas and nuclear) power plants; LNG terminals (liquefaction, regasification, and FSRU’s); e-fuels; mining projects (iron ore, gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and silver); rail systems (light rail, subways, and high-speed rail); semiconductor fabrication facilities; and telecommunication projects (satellite networks, cellular networks, and fiber optic undersea cable).

Michael Graffagna

Theo Seltzer is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Group. Theo’s practice focuses on the representation of U.S., Japanese, and other global institutional investors in the acquisition, financing and disposition of real estate, including cross-border equity and debt financing, fund formations, development projects, data centers, hotels, and distressed loan portfolio acquisitions.Theo has been consistently ranked as one of the leading U.S. Real Estate lawyers in Japan, including by Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and The Best Lawyers in Japan. Most recently, he has been named Lawyer of the Year for Real Estate Law in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Japan. Theo is ranked Band 1 for Real Estate in Japan in Chamber Asia-Pacific's 2024 edition.Chambers Asia Pacific's 2011-2020 editions named Theo a "Star Individual" for Real Estate in Japan. He is also listed in the elite Hall of Fame category for Real Estate in Japan in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific's 2024 edition.Theo’s projects include:<ul><li>Representing Blackstone in its acquisition of certain Daiwa House’s logistics centers in Japan. The transaction was awarded Real Estate Deal of the Year by Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2021. </li><li>Representing Asia Pacific Land, who led an international consortium of investors, in the acquisition of the Tokyo Shiba Park Building. As of the closing, this was considered the largest single asset transaction in Japan since the Global Financial Crisis. The transaction was awarded Asia Deal of the Year by the Global PERE (Private Equity Real Estate) Awards 2013. </li><li>Representing global funds in connection with their acquisitions of performing, sub-performing and non-performing loan pools and bonds, including acquisitions from the Lehman bankruptcy estate. </li><li>Representing a global real estate/private equity fund in their investment in connection with the ¥150 billion sale and leaseback of 184 Japan dealership outlets of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, one of the largest sale-leaseback transactions in Japan to date. </li><li>Representing a global financial institution in the workout of their debt position in the ANA Hotel portfolio. </li></ul>