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MoFo Selected as Finalists in 21 Nominations Across 19 categories at the Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards 2026

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Morrison Foerster has been selected as finalists in 21 nominations across 19 categories at the upcoming Asian Legal Business...

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Morrison Foerster has been selected as finalists in 21 nominations across 19 categories at the upcoming Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2026. These prestigious awards recognize the exceptional performance of private practitioners and in-house counsel throughout the region. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony set to take place in Tokyo on June 12, 2026.These nominations include:<ul><li>Dealmaker of the Year – Ken Siegel</li><li>Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year – Yuichi Inase</li><li>Foreign Lawyer of the Year – Masato Hayakawa</li><li>Woman Lawyer of the Year – Chie Yakura</li><li>Young Lawyer of the Year – Bryce Gray</li><li>Capital Markets Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Energy and Resources Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Healthcare and Life Sciences Law Firm of the Year</li><li>International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year</li><li>International Deal Firm of the Year</li><li>International Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Litigation Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Real Estate Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Japan Law Firm of the Year</li><li>Debt Market Deal of the Year – SoftBank Corp. Senior Bonds</li><li>M&A Deal of the Year (Midsize) – Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquisition of Burger King Japan Holdings</li><li>M&A Deal of the Year (Premium) – Bain Capital acquisition of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation</li><li>M&A Deal of the Year (Premium) – EQT acquisition of Fujitec Co</li><li>TMT Deal of the Year – EQT take-private of Fujitec Co., Ltd.</li><li>TMT Deal of the Year – SoftBank Group and SoftBank Corp. international bond issuances</li></ul>As one of the preeminent law firms in Japan, Morrison Foerster provides integrated local and international law advice. The Tokyo office is one of the largest international firms in Japan, with approximately 50 U.S. attorneys, 50 Japanese bengoshi, and attorneys qualified in England & Wales who team with the firm’s global network to advise on Japan’s most significant inbound and outbound transactions, investigations, and disputes.View the full list of <a href="https://www.legalbusinessonline.com/law-awards/alb-japan-law-awards-2026#edit-group-finalists" target="_blank">finalists</a>.

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Ken Siegel is the managing partner of Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo oﬃce and the head of the oﬃce’s 50-attorney M&A team. Ken’s practice focuses on the representation of high-technology companies in acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.Ken has been consistently ranked as one of the leading U.S. attorneys in Japan. Among other things, he is the only attorney rated as a “Star Individual” for M&A in Japan (the level above Band 1) by Chambers Global, having been ranked at this level for more than a dozen years (2011–2024 editions). According to Chambers Asia-Paciﬁc, Ken is “commercial and pragmatic, an incredible M&A attorney” who “deserves tremendous credit for his M&A practice” and has “outstanding acumen, experience and leadership.”In 2026, Ken and his team were named “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer for their role advising SoftBank on a series of transformative artificial intelligence transactions, including its record-breaking $41 billion investment in OpenAI. He has also been recognized multiple times by the publication – including as “Dealmaker of the Week” for his work on Hitachi’s $5 billion sale of its hard disk-drive business to Western Digital, as well as for representing SoftBank in its $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint, a transaction that was named the Global M&A Deal of the Year by The American Lawyer.He has also been recognized by the Financial Times—receiving its Innovative Lawyers Award in 2022, as one of the most innovative lawyers in the Asia Pacific region, and again in 2025, when he and his team were named Innovative Lawyers in Science and Technology for their groundbreaking AI work on Stargate, a joint venture developing advanced AI infrastructure in the United States.Ken received his B.A. magna cum laude from Amherst College. He studied Japanese language at Stanford University’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language in Tokyo and at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), receiving a graduate degree in International Aﬀairs. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.<h4>Select Rankings</h4>Ken’s recent notable awards include:<ul><li>Dealmaker of the Year (The American Lawyer 2026)</li><li>Most Innovative Legal Practitioner in Asia-Pacific (Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Award 2022)</li></ul><ul dir="ltr"><li>Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Global 2024)</li><li dir="ltr">Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024)</li><li>Hall of Fame for Japan: Corporate and M&A (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025)</li><li>Market Leader for Japan: M&A (IFLR1000 2024)</li><li>Corporate, M&A Law, Private Equity, Private Funds and Venture Capital Law [The Best Lawyers in Japan (Recognized since 2009)]</li><li>Foreign Lawyer of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2018)</li><li>Tokyo Managing Partner of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2017)</li></ul>

Kenneth A. Siegel

Partner

Yuichi Inase is a partner of Morrison Foerster Law Offices. Yuichi's practice focuses on a broad range of litigation matters, including commercial and intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution. He is also experienced in corporate matters, including compliance and regulatory issues, with a particular focus on the technology and e-commerce industries.Yuichi is recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” in Japan for Dispute Resolution by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 and is also ranked in the IAM Patent 1000 2025 for Japan: Litigation.Yuichi earned his B.S. in Engineering and J.D. from the University of Tokyo and worked for two technology consulting companies prior to joining the firm. Yuichi completed his training at the Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan (62nd Trainee). He is a bengoshi admitted to practice in Japan as well as in New York, and is a member of the Tokyo Bar Association.

Yuichi Inase

Masato Hayakawa is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group of Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo Office. Prior to joining the firm’s Tokyo Office, he practiced in the San Francisco Office for several years. His practice is concentrated on transactions and counseling involving intellectual property, including structuring and negotiating license agreements, technology transfers, adversarial patent litigation settlements, outsourcing arrangements, joint development agreements and other intellectual property matters relevant to technology companies.Masato is also very experienced in the intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions. He advises clients, both emerging and established companies, from a range of industries. For example, Masato has counseled companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, semiconductor technology companies, financial institutions, and multinational technology conglomerates. He has extensive experience in cross-border transactions, having worked on major transactions in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and he is fluent in Japanese.The 2021 edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific noted that “In addition to deep experience and unsurpassed knowledge as an IP practitioner, he brings a deal lawyer's approach to the negotiating table.”Masato has provided legal services on a pro bono basis to a number of non-profit organizations such as The Yale Law Journal, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) of Japan, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, and HAND (Helping After Neonatal Death). Masato also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of The Yale Law Journal.Masato received his A.B. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with highest honors. He earned his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School, where he served as an articles editor of the Yale Journal of International Law and later as managing editor of The Yale Law Journal. Masato is admitted to practice in California and as Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi in Japan.

Masato Hayakawa

Chie Yakura is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster Law Offices. She represents both non-Japanese and Japanese corporations in a wide range of complex litigation matters with an emphasis on intellectual property, technology transactions and trade secrets, antitrust/competition law, as well as cross-border contractual and commercial disputes and product liability matters. Chie also focuses on anti-corruption and compliance matters and conducts internal investigations. She has handled cases in a variety of industries, including software, hardware, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, transportation, real estate and manufacturing.Chie received her LL.B. from Kyoto University and graduated from the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan (53rd Trainee). Chie also received an LL.M. from Columbia Law School and an LL.M. in international business law from the University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science.Chie is a bengoshi, admitted to practice in Japan. She is also a benrishi (patent attorney) in Japan and admitted in New York.Chie is a member of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association, the Japan Patent Attorneys Association and the American Bar Association.

Chie Yakura

Bryce Gray is a corporate associate in the firm’s Tokyo office.Bryce’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets and compliance matters. A native English speaker, Bryce is also fluent in Japanese.Bryce received his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law and his B.A. in both English and History from Rice University.