TOKYO, November 27, 2006 – Morrison & Foerster announced today that noted capital markets lawyer Andrew W. Winden has joined the firm as a partner in its Corporate Group in Tokyo.  The addition of Mr. Winden further expands Morrison & Foerster’s strong Tokyo-based corporate and capital markets practice. 

Mr. Winden has practiced in Japan since 2001.  Over that period, he has worked on several of the largest global offerings by Japanese issuers, including the US$5.2 billion offering of common stock by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc., the privatizations of Central Japan Railway Company, Electric Power Development Co. Ltd., and West Japan Railway Company, and the initial public offering of Dentsu, Inc.  Mr. Winden also handled the New York Stock Exchange listings of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and Konami Corporation. Mr. Winden is listed in the Chambers Global Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers as one of the leading capital markets attorneys in Japan.

Mr. Winden has also been active in mergers and acquisitions transactions involving Japanese principals, including the merger of Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, Inc. and UFJ Holdings, Inc., the acquisition by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. of a controlling interest in Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd., and Vodafone’s tender offer for Japan Telecom. 

Fuyuo Mitomi, the head of the capital markets team of Ito & Mitomi, Registered Associated Offices of Morrison & Foerster, Tokyo, said “We are delighted to have Andrew with us.  We know he is one of the top securities lawyers in Tokyo today, and look forward to having him on our team.”

Ken Siegel, Managing Partner of the firm’s Tokyo office, said “Andrew’s addition gives Morrison the ability to execute global capital markets deals under both U.S. and Japanese law.  We believe that our compelling team of Tokyo-based bilingual lawyers and global resources will make us a natural choice for Japan’s top companies and underwriters as companies here expand their financing base as they globalize in coming years.”

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. Winden served as an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, clerked for the Hon. Eugene A. Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and worked for several years in the Washington, D.C., New York and Tokyo offices of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.  Mr. Winden received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1990 and received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and a Masters of Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy in 1995.  Mr. Winden is also a graduate of the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan.

Andrew W. Winden, a leading securities practitioner in Japan, joins the firm’s Tokyo Office