(Tokyo, June 16, 2008) Ropes & Gray is pleased to announce its move to quarters in the Yusen Building,  located in the Marunouchi District of Tokyo, in the heart of the city’s financial district and near to Tokyo Station.

The firm's Tokyo office was initially staffed by four attorneys when it opened in October 2007. The principal focus of the office is representing Japanese and Asian clients who have IP litigation and IP-related transactions in the United States, as well as private equity clients  engaged in cross-border transactions in  Asia.

The office now has seven attorneys, including Tsuyoshi Imai, who joined the firm's Private Equity practice in March after leaving Latham & Watkins. Imai is an expert in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and private equity transactions. Partner Hiroyuki Hagiwara, a patent litigation specialist currently resident in New York, will move to Tokyo this summer.

"The new office features state of the art technology, full scale conference and litigation work room facilities and can accommodate our continued growth in Tokyo," said Patricia Martone, co-head of the firm's International Practice Group. “We are pleased by the positive response from our clients to our presence in Tokyo."

In the patent litigation practice, the firm has obtained several new clients, including a leading Fortune 100 Global Company. And the firm has a number of new US patent litigation matters, including two suits in the Eastern District of Texas and one in the Central District of California, representing Japanese companies as both plaintiffs and defendants.

"The firm's Tokyo based private equity practice is also thriving," added Al Rose, co-head of the firm's Private Equity Group. "We are now well-positioned to handle major private equity transactions on the ground, supported by our major resources in the United States

The opening of the new Tokyo office comes only a few weeks after the firm opened a Hong Kong office, which provides client additional synergies in private equity/corporate practice.

Contact:
Hiroyuki Hagiwara
Partner Ropes & Gray
t. 212-596-9281

James DeGraw
Partner Ropes & Gray
t. +81-3-6259-3512

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