Kirkland & Ellis to Launch Tokyo Office
Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s largest international law firm by revenue and a top advisor to global alternative asset, private equity and corporate clients, announced today it will launch an office in Tokyo to support the growth of the Firm’s long-standing transactional practice in Asia. In connection with the new Tokyo office, leading lawyers Naoya Shiota and Clara Shirota will join the Firm as partners, and Catherine Simes will join as counsel. Naoya and Catherine focus on mergers and acquisitions, and Clara focuses on debt financing transactions.
“Naoya, Clara and Catherine are all highly regarded lawyers and we’re excited to welcome them to Kirkland as we establish our presence in Tokyo,” said Jon A. Ballis, Chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee. “Their experience and insight across private equity, strategic transactions and leveraged finance will be invaluable as we broaden our Asia footprint into Japan, where we see strong momentum for complex transactions.”
One of the largest and most sophisticated economies in the world, Japan has become a destination for private equity investment and cross-border M&A activity and recorded its largest M&A deal value in over 20 years in 2025.
Naoya Shiota joins with more than two decades of experience advising leading global private equity sponsors and Japanese corporate clients on complex cross-border and domestic transactions across a range of sectors, including automotive, entertainment and pharmaceuticals. Naoya is admitted to practice in Japan and New York. He is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global and IFLR1000. He joins from Morrison Foerster, where he was a partner.
Clara Shirota brings extensive experience advising private equity funds and other strategic investors on complex, cross-border financings across Asia. Her practice focuses on leveraged acquisition and take-private financings, bank and bond financings, as well as refinancings and dividend recapitalizations transactions across sectors including consumer, healthcare, financial services, real estate and business services. Clara is admitted to practice in Japan, Hong Kong, New York, England and Wales. She is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500. She joins from White & Case, where she was a partner.
Catherine Simes represents private equity sponsors and strategic investors in leveraged buyouts and other complex transactions. She also advises private equity clients and their portfolio companies on corporate governance matters. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. Catherine was previously an associate with Ropes & Gray.
“Naoya, Clara and Catherine are the perfect lawyers to launch Kirkland in Japan,” said Kirkland corporate partner and Executive Committee member Jennifer Perkins. “They join as the M&A landscape is undergoing significant transformation with Japanese businesses pursuing portfolio optimization and strategic transactions and inbound investment from global sponsors continuing to accelerate. We are excited to take this next step with them and to continue supporting clients on their most sophisticated investments across the region.”
The Tokyo office is Kirkland’s 24th worldwide and opens as the Firm celebrates 20 years of operations in Asia. Kirkland launched an office in Hong Kong in 2006, followed by openings in Shanghai in 2009 and Beijing in 2013. Kirkland is consistently recognized for excellence in the region, including with rankings in Chambers Asia-Pacific as a leading firm for Corporate/M&A: Private Equity, Investment Funds and Capital Markets and a 2025 Legal 500 China “Law Firm of the Year” award for restructuring and insolvency. The Firm currently has more than 125 lawyers in the region.