International arbitration specialist Shinsuke Yakura, formerly head of the Tokyo office of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, has joined White & Case to lead its Tokyo dispute resolution practice.
The arrival of Yakura, who also most recently served as head of Orrick Tokyo’s complex litigation and dispute resolution as well as intellectual property groups, marks the launch of White & Case’s disputes practice in Japan.
“Our global disputes practices have long focused on Japan as an important market for clients with international disputes needs. Shinsuke’s practice and experience is an ideal complement to our global team and will bolster our on-going support of our Japanese corporate clients on their international disputes and our global clients on contentious matters in Japan,” said White & Case partner Abby Cohen Smutny, co-head of the international arbitration practice.
Admitted to practise in Japan and New York, Yakura specialises in advising domestic and foreign companies on cross-border litigation and arbitration, IP, white collar and compliance matters, as well as antitrust and product liability. In the early days of his legal career, he served as a senior associate at Paul Hastings in Tokyo between 2009 and 2011 before joining Orrick as an of counsel and eventually made partner in 2012. In 2018, he became the office leader of Orrick’s Tokyo office and served in the role until his departure from the firm.
Yakura, who began his more than two decades-long legal career as an associate in 2000 at H.Okada International Law Offices, regularly advises on inbound disputes before Japanese courts and on matters under the rules of the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association. He also frequently represents clients in outbound disputes before US courts and under global institutional arbitral rules, including those of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the London Court of International Arbitration.
