Recently, Bird & Bird announced plans to open an office in Tokyo by the end of the year. The office will primarily serve Japanese clients on cross-border transactions, intellectual property, dispute resolution, and data protection matters in the technology sector across Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Founded in 1846 and headquartered in London, Bird & Bird currently operates 32 direct offices worldwide. In China, it has four offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and has established formal alliances with law firms such as Lawjay Partner and AllBright Law Offices.

It is reported that the Tokyo office of Bird & Bird will be led by Hiro Iwamura, a partner who joined the firm in May this year. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, Hiro Iwamura was responsible for the Japanese corporate investment business in the UK and EU markets at Ashurst and has also worked at law firms including Herbert Smith Freehills and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.