Tokyo-based Atsumi & Sakai has strengthened its expertise in banking and finance, adding to its bench a new partner, Akiko Hosokawa, a decades-long partner at Baker McKenzie.
Hosokawa’s move came just three days after Dio Inoue, who was previously the head of legal at US-based precision oncology company Guardant Health AMEA and Guardant Health Japan, joined the Tokyo-based law firm as a partner.
Having spent 27 years at Baker McKenzie and becoming a partner at the global law firm in 2006, Hosokawa specialises in structured finance, including securitisation and liquidation. Admitted in Japan and New York, the Tokyo-based veteran has led a decades-long legal career advising clients on banking and finance as well as general corporate matters.
Last year, Hosokawa was part of a cross-border Baker McKenzie team who advised DBS Bank, UBS and SBI Digital Asset Holdings on the world’s first cross-border repo and natively-issued digital bond fully executed and settled on a public blockchain, to the global law firm.
