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Morrison Foerster Recognized in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023

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Morrison Foerster has earned 31 practice area rankings and 35 individual recognitions across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Singapore, and India, in the Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023 edition. 

About Morrison Foerster

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Morrison Foerster has earned 31 practice area rankings and 35 individual recognitions across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Singapore, and India, in the Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023 edition. The firm received eight top practice rankings, including the following:<ul><li>Asia-Pacific Region, Corporate/M&A: Private Equity</li><li>Asia-Pacific Region, Technology, Media, Telecoms (TMT)</li><li>Japan, Corporate/M&A: International</li><li>Japan, Dispute Resolution: International</li><li>Japan, Intellectual Property: International</li><li>Japan, Real Estate</li><li>Japan, Technology, Media, Telecoms (TMT)</li><li>Singapore, Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption: International</li></ul>Following remarkable growth in the 2021 and 2022 rankings, the firm has continued its track record of success in the 2023 edition, including gaining two new practice rankings in Japan for Technology, Media, Telecoms (TMT) and in Singapore for Real Estate, as well as achieving the highest recognition in the Asia-Pacific Region: Corporate/M&A: Private Equity category, where it earned a Band 1 ranking on the strength of its corporate practice across Japan, Greater China, and Singapore.The Tokyo and Singapore offices received a total of 35 individual recognitions with notable top-tier rankings, including the following:<ul><li>Akihiro Wani, Japan: Banking & Finance: Domestic Firms: Financial Services Regulation, Senior Statesperson and Japan: Capital Markets: Domestic: Securitisation & Derivatives, Senior Statesperson</li><li>Fuyuo Mitomi, Japan: Capital Markets: Domestic, Senior Statesperson</li><li>Kenneth Siegel, Japan: Corporate/M&A: International, Star Individual</li><li>Gary Smith, Japan: Corporate/M&A: International, Band 1</li><li>Max Olson, Japan: Intellectual Property: International, Band 1</li><li>Masahiro Shiga, Japan: Real Estate: Bengoshi, Band 1</li><li>Theodore Seltzer, Japan: Real Estate: Registered Foreign Lawyers, Band 1</li><li>Daniel Levison, Singapore: Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption: International, Band 1</li><li>Seth Graham, Japan: Technology, Media, Telecoms (TMT), Spotlight</li></ul>As one of the preeminent law firms in Asia, Morrison Foerster provides integrated local and U.S. law advice. The Tokyo office is the largest office in Japan of any global firm and one of the largest law firms in Japan, domestic or international. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, the firm has a strong presence in China, handling major matters in the region for 40 years. The Singapore office, which opened in 2013, and is celebrating its 10th anniversary, features lawyers with many years of experience in South and Southeast Asia and was named by The Legal 500, another leading legal directory, as Law Firm of the Year in 2020 and 2021.To view the complete list of Morrison Foerster’s rankings in the 2023 edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific, please visit the publication’s <a href="https://chambers.com/legal-guide/asia-pacific-8">website</a>.

Morrison Foerster Recognized in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023

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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

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

Masahiro is the Managing Partner of Morrison Foerster Law Offices. He advises clients on a range of matters in various sectors, including:<ul><li>Real estate finance</li><li>Fund formation and private equity</li><li>Project finance for renewable energy projects</li><li>Banking and financial institutions</li><li>Workouts and restructurings</li><li>Distressed acquisitions and financing</li><li>Real estate investment trusts</li></ul>Over the past 20 years, Masahiro has advised on the purchase of more than ¥1.5 trillion ($16 billion) in Japanese real estate and represented lenders in more than ¥1 trillion ($1.1 billion) in issued bonds and securitized loans. He handles transactions across all major property types, including commercial, professional, industrial, and hospitality.Masahiro also represents major commercial lenders, investors, and investment banks in cross-border transactions. He has worked with leading banks, as well as with foreign borrowers and investors. He has advised private real estate firms, and counseled some of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in Asia, in their real estate transactions.Masahiro is a bengoshi registered in Japan and graduated from the Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan in 1996.

Masahiro Shiga

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>

Theodore Seltzer

﻿Dan Levison is a partner at Morrison Foerster and co-Managing Partner of the Singapore office. He also heads its Litigation Department and leads the firm’s Ethics and Compliance regional practice in Asia. Dan counsels clients regarding compliance matters and conducts internal investigations and compliance reviews across the Asia-Pacific region, where he has over 24 years of experience. His practice has included work in many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore.Clients say that Dan is “a highly skilled lawyer who specializes in managing large, complex internal investigations” and “very thoughtful and thorough, and extremely focused on giving high-quality advice across a broad range of issues.” Clients rely on his experience with highly sensitive and complex cross‑border matters, which have included fraud and corruption, cartel, and other competition matters, anti-money laundering, economic sanctions and export control, privacy and data security, and regulatory and product safety investigations. In addition, he assists clients with pre‑acquisition and third-party compliance due diligence and developing, reviewing, and implementing compliance policies, procedures, and training programs.Dan also focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, with particular emphasis on the resolution of multi-jurisdictional disputes and has developed particular expertise regarding cross‑border electronic discovery matters. He has counselled clients in a range of matters involving contract disputes, business torts, antitrust, product liability, intellectual property, and other issues. Dan has represented clients in a variety of industries, including electronics and manufacturing, software, consulting and professional services, consumer goods, electronic commerce, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, sports and entertainment, transportation, construction and real estate, hospitality, insurance, and banking and financial services, among others. Dan is also a member of the firm’s COVID‑19 Task Force.Before moving to Singapore, Dan spent more than 12 years in MoFo’s Tokyo office, and clients continue to rely on him for his Japan-related expertise, for which he has been recognized by Chambers Global 2020, 2021, and 2022.Dan has been listed by Chambers Asia-Pacific every year for the last six years as a top practitioner (Band 1) in his field for Corporate Investigations/Anti-corruption. He is recognized as a leading individual for white-collar crime by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific from 2021 - 2024, and is listed as a litigation star by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific. Dan has also been recommended as a global leader in Investigations in Singapore by Who’s Who Legal/Global Investigations Review every year since 2019.Dan is also a sought–after speaker and thought leader on anti–corruption, investigations, and compliance‑related topics.In addition to his practice, Dan serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and on its Diversity Strategy Committee, and plays a leadership role in some of the firm’s global diversity initiatives, notably, as a member of the Board of Directors of the firm’s pro bono client, Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network, and he has been highly commended by Chambers for an Asia-Pacific Diversity & Inclusion Award 2020.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>A multinational company in connection with an internal investigation into allegations of bribery in Indonesia.</li><li>A real estate investment trust in relation to a compliance risk assessment concerning a joint venture in India. </li><li>A U.S.-based company in an investigation into corruption and procurement–related irregularities in India. </li><li>A global technology company in relation to an investigation into allegations of conflicts of interest and accounting irregularities by local management in Southeast Asia.</li><li>Several Asia-based employees of financial institutions in internal and government corruption and money laundering investigations. </li><li>U.S.-based medical device manufacturer in investigation into allegations of bribery and fraud in Japan.</li><li>A multinational pharmaceutical company in investigations into allegations of irregularities in the conduct of clinical trials in Japan.</li><li>A U.S.-based company with respect to several Japan Fair Trade Commission investigations.</li><li>Providing a global financial institution with anti-corruption counselling with respect to its global private equity and venture capital investments.</li><li>Conducted pre-investment and pre-acquisition anti-corruption and compliance due diligence for U.S., Europe, and Asia-based multinational companies in numerous transactions across the Asia‑Pacific region and beyond. </li></ul>

Daniel Levison

Managing Partner, Singapore

Seth Graham is a partner in Morrison & Foerster’s Technology Transactions Group and advises clients on a wide range of transactional matters involving technology and intellectual property, including licensing arrangements, technology transfers, outsourcing transactions, development agreements, and other commercial and services arrangements.Seth has over 15 years of experience in the U.S. and Asia advising clients on cross-border IP matters, with a focus on the IT, pharmaceutical, semiconductor and telecommunication industries. Seth regularly counsels clients with respect to software and content licensing arrangements, trademark licenses and branding strategies, outsourcing and cloud computing transactions, and joint development arrangements, as well as on issues regarding open source software, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain applications. Seth also assists clients with complex patent licensing arrangements and on intellectual property issues relevant to emerging company investments and project finance and development activities. He has represented client such as SoftBank, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Otsuka and Yahoo! Japan, amongst others.Seth also has extensive experience advising on adversarial litigation negotiations and settlements, in- and out-bound licensing arrangements across Asia, and mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures and other corporate transactions. Seth provides pro bono legal services to Médecins Sans Frontières and other not-for-profit organizations in connection with establishing and enforcing their intellectual property rights.Seth has been consistently recognized for his work in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) space by Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and was named as an “Asia Super 50 TMT Lawyer” by Asian Legal Business. Clients comment that Seth has “great negotiation skills” and is their “go to lawyer for IP and cross-border matters” (Legal 500 2024) and that his “service and understanding of our business remains one of main reasons we use Morrison Foerster” (Chambers 2023).  Seth is admitted to practice in New York and California, and is a Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi in Japan.