Bio

Brian Strawn is recognised as a leading voice in Japan on cross-border M&A and commercial law. He is co-head of the Tokyo Corporate/M&A practice. Brian's focus is international corporate, commercial and financial matters, including cross-border M&A transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and reorganizations. He also assists his clients with general commercial disputes and competition and compliance issues. With over three decades of experience in Japan, both as an entrepreneur in the auto industry and as a legal professional, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to bear in assisting Japanese corporations with all aspects of their international business operations, and in helping global companies to navigate the challenging business and legal environments in Japan. Brian is consistently ranked as a leading individual for international M&A in Japan by Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR 1000. Chambers reports that "client commentators are universal in their praise," describing him as "very experienced and knowledgeable on M&A matters," and noting that he "has an exceptional ability to understand and execute in a cross-cultural setting" and that Brian "stands out as a rare combination of wide knowledge not only of legal matters but across many industrial fields, with the good sense to guide by suggestion and not forcing through his opinion. His unflappable demeanor often helps clients through a difficult situation." Brian has also been recognized as a "Best Lawyer in Japan" for Corporate/M&A law since 2014. In addition to his native English, Brian speaks and reads Japanese fluently and is capable of providing bilingual advice in both English and Japanese on all aspects of his practice. Brian is a member of the following: New York Bar Association, Daini Tokyo Bar Association, American Bar Association and American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.