含羞草社区

Introduction

Masahiko (Masa) Ishida is the country managing partner and head of the Japan corporate group in DLA Piper’s Tokyo office. Masa is admitted to practice in both Japan and New York and has over 20 years of experience. He is widely regarded as a trusted advisor and leading practitioner in cross-border transactions and has advised many leading multinational and Japanese clients on high-profile matters.

Masa has an impressive track record and some of his most significant cases include a large acquisition in 15 jurisdictions by a Japanese life sciences company, a significant equity investment in a large Japanese listed life sciences company by one of the largest multinational financial institutions, the first VC investment in Japan by a well-known multinational venture capital company, and the first listing on Nasdaq by a Japanese technology company in the 21st century. He has also represented government agencies and multinational trading companies in Japan. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Masa practiced at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, before joining a multinational boutique investment bank in New York.

Masa is recognised as a leading lawyer in the Corporate and M&A field by many industry leading legal publications including Chambers and Legal 500. Client commentary published in Chambers noted that Masa is “undoubtedly one of the best in the M&A world. He is smart and he is one of the best practitioners in the market.” Masa was also named as one of the “Dealmakers in Asia” in Asian Legal Business 2020.

Masa is a graduate of the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Law and Politics and Columbia Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He was also a visiting scholar at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) at Columbia Business School.

Masa is a member of The Cool Japan Inbound Investment Growth Committee organised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan. He was also appointed as an outside general counsel by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Additionally, Masa is also an auditor for the Fulbright Alumni Association of Japan.