UK-based law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has opened its 19th office, in Tokyo, where the team will be led by WFW partner Simon Collins.
The team will "initially focus on asset and structured finance in the aviation and maritime sectors, offering both Japanese and English law capabilities", WFW said in its announcement, adding that the office will make it the law firm with the biggest aviation finance presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Collins will be joined by recruits from "leading international law firm" White & Case. He was an associate at WFW in London and Singapore before joining White & Case in 2005 and re-joining WFW in May 2022. "
Widely recognised as one of the top asset finance lawyers in the region by leading legal and industry journals including Legal 500, Chambers and Airfinance Journal," Collins advises clients on complex cross-border aviation and maritime finance transactions, including asset and project finance, structured lending, leasing and commercial transactions, WFW said.
“We are extremely excited to be opening in Tokyo with such a first-class team, giving us a strong presence on the ground in the world’s third largest economy and further reinforcing our dominance in asset finance across Asia," said WFW senior partner George Paleokrassas commented.
"In addition to our strong maritime practice, we now have the largest aviation finance practice in the Asia Pacific region. Following as it does our recent opening in Seoul in February, this latest expansion highlights WFW’s commitment to the Asia Pacific region and its importance to our business," he said.