Morrison & Foerster/Ito & Mitomi was awarded the Japan Client Choice Award by the International Law Office (ILO), a leading legal update service firm for major companies worldwide. The award was presented during the International Bar Association Conference in Prague on September 27, 2005.

In 2005 ILO launched the Awards to recognize those law firms around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. The criteria focused on law firms' ability to add real value to their clients' business above and beyond the other players in the market. The shortlist was generated from an ILO subscriber survey of corporate counsel only, which received over 1,000 responses.

The firms were assessed on the following criteria: quality of legal advice; value for money; commercial awareness; effective communication; billing transparency; tailored fee structures; depth of team; response time; sharing of expertise; and use of technology. The awards research team also conducted interviews and additional research to establish this year's shortlist.