With a mandate to increase its Asia revenues, Hogan Lovells continues to recruit at partner level, today (28 April) announcing the hire of Wataru Kamoto from local boutique Hibiya-Nakata to its corporate practice in Tokyo.
A Japanese-qualified lawyer (bengoshi), Kamoto joins the Anglo American law firm on 30 April. The corporate specialist joined Hibiya-Nakata after leaving Allen & Overy (A&O) in 2011, and also previously worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Kamoto was part of the team involved in the launch of Hibiya-Nakata in 2012 alongside Nobuo Nakata, who previously sat as a member of A&O’s corporate board.
This latest hire by Hogan Lovells is part of its efforts to enhance its Asia presence, which makes up 7% of overall firm revenues, in recent months through lateral hiring.
Paul Hastings project finance head Joseph Kim joined its Tokyo finance practice, while Kirkland & Ellis corporate partner Steven Tran was brought into Hogan’s Hong Kong corporate practice in September. It further hired Gide Loyrette Nouel’s Vietnam head Samantha Campbell to its Southeast Asia practice to head its offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Hogan Lovells global corporate head David Gibbons said: ‘We are pleased that Wataru will be joining our corporate practice in Tokyo. Not only does he have outstanding M&A experience, he also has built a strong reputation in both tax and antitrust. This will complement the M&A practice and extend the reach of our antitrust and tax practices in Asia even further.’
