Withers has established a projects and energy practice in Asia with newly hired partners Ean MacPherson and Fumihiko Hori, and special counsel Keisuke Misuda, to boost project development, construction, finance and regulatory capabilities in the region.
“The team’s arrival reflects sustained client demand across Asia for advice in renewable and conventional energy, data centres (in particular, demand for clean energy sources for data centres), and major infrastructure projects, as well as increasing regulatory complexity around energy transition and sustainability,” Jeremy Wakeham, chief executive officer of the business division and a commercial real estate partner at Withers, told Asia Business Law Journal.
He said the new practice, officially established on 5 January 2026, would complement the firm’s funds practice across the APAC (Asia-Pacific), which had seen an increasing appetite for investment into energy projects, particularly from Singapore-based funds and other corporate clients looking for projects across the region.
MacPherson joined the firm from Baker McKenzie in Tokyo, where he was a partner for 13 years and co-headed its renewable and clean energy group. He focuses on renewable and conventional energy power projects, including offshore wind, solar and biomass, as well as data centres, joint ventures, major projects and corporate work. He also works with Japanese companies investing in power and infrastructure projects outside Japan.
He serves as the head of the projects and energy team in Asia and is based in the Tokyo and Singapore offices.
Hori joined Withers from Morrison & Foerster in Tokyo, where he was an attorney at law for 17 years, and most recently served as an of counsel. He advises on Japan’s regulatory and policy landscape, with experience in energy and Green Transformation (GX), Japan’s initiative to promote a low-carbon and sustainable economy. He also works on national security regulations affecting inbound and outbound investment, as well as telecommunications regulations, particularly for digital and advanced technology sectors, including startups.
Misuda was an associate at Baker McKenzie in Tokyo for nine years. He focuses on project finance and real estate transactions, including large-scale solar and wind projects, asset securitisation and structured finance.
Wakeham also observed several trends in the financial markets area. These include offshore wind and large renewables facing cost pressures, auction redesign and delivery risk, particularly in Japan, the accelaration of the GX and decarbonisation policy, increasing the need for regulatory and policy interpretation, tighter power and sustainability requirements for data centres, especially in Singapore and Japan, and greater national security and investment screening scrutiny affecting energy and digital infrastructure transactions.
With Ean [MacPherson] leading the practice across Tokyo and Singapore, the team combined deep regional experience with regulatory, corporate and finance expertise, enabling the firm to support clients from project financing through to development and operation, across multiple jurisdictions, added Wakeham.
