Prime Highlights
- Kirkland & Ellis is opening a new office in Tokyo to expand its transactional practice and support growing deal activity in Japan.
- Senior lawyers Naoya Shiota, Clara Shirota, and Catherine Simes will lead the firm’s launch in the Japanese market.
Key Facts
- Kirkland & Ellis is a global law firm with 24 offices worldwide and 20 years of operations in Asia.
- Japan recorded its largest M&A deal value in more than 20 years during 2025, driven by private equity and cross-border transaction activity.
Background
Kirkland & Ellis law firm has made official announcements regarding the opening of a new office in Tokyo. This recent development reflects the approach taken by the company to grow both its operations in Japan and its transactional activities in other Asian countries.
Naoya Shiota and Clara Shirota, both experienced attorneys, will head this new office of Kirkland & Ellis as partners, while Catherine Simes will act as counsel. Both Shiota and Simes specialize in mergers and acquisitions, while Shirota specializes in debt financing transactions.
As per the statement provided officially by the organization, the appointments mentioned above would aid the organization in catering well to their clients who indulge in the practice of private equity, strategic transactions, and leveraged finance transactions. The management of the company has stated that there is tremendous scope for growth in financial advising due to the presence of many complex transactions in Japan.
As part of its strategy, the law firm observed that Japan has emerged a
s an important market for private equity funds and mergers and acquisitions transactions. The country witnessed its highest deal volume since the early 2000s in 2025 due to increased investor interest from both home and abroad.
The leadership of the firm also mentioned several developments taking place in the Japanese corporate These trends have increased demand for sophisticated legal advice on large-scale transactions.
The Tokyo office becomes Kirkland & Ellis’ 24th office worldwide and opens as the firm marks two decades of operations in Asia. The firm established its first Asian office in Hong Kong in 2006, followed by expansions into Shanghai and Beijing in the following years.
With the Tokyo launch, Kirkland & Ellis aims to deepen its regional capabilities and support clients pursuing investments and transactions across Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific market.
