K&L Gates : Newsstand : K&L Gates Furthers International Presence with Launch of Tokyo, Moscow Offices

K&L Gates Furthers International Presence with Launch of Tokyo, Moscow Offices

January 19, 2010

New York– Following a year of international office launches in Frankfurt, Singapore, and Dubai, global law firm K&L Gates LLP continues its international expansion in 2010 with the establishment of new offices in Tokyo and Moscow. The latest openings introduce K&L Gates, in Japan and the Russian Federation, to two of the world’s largest economies.

“With our new Tokyo and Moscow offices, we will enter nations and parts of the world that are strategically important to K&L Gates’ global clientele,” said Peter J. Kalis, K&L Gates Chairman and Global Managing Partner. “We are delighted by the quality, experience, and client focus of our new colleagues in Japan and Russia.”

Tokyo: K&L Gates’ entry to Japan strengthens the firm’s Asia presence to six offices consisting of more than 80 legal professionals and includes the addition of corporate partners J. Ryan Dwyer, III; Takahiro Kawaguchi; and Robert E. Melson, Jr., who is based in the firm’s Singapore office. Having advised on Japanese and international joint ventures and foreign direct investment both into and out of Japan, the lawyers in the firm’s Tokyo office initially will focus in the corporate and international finance, mergers & acquisitions, banking, private equity, real estate acquisitions, licensing and distribution arrangements, and general corporate and employment law areas, and will receive support from other members of K&L Gates’ extensive Asia practice, which totals approximately 200 lawyers firmwide. Dwyer, Melson, and Kawaguchi join K&L Gates from Latham & Watkins LLP.

“Japan is an important market for our global and regional Asia clients, and the addition of a Tokyo office allows K&L Gates to provide comprehensive legal service across Asia. The addition of these partners, with their experience in Japanese and cross-border practice, enhances our growing footprint in Asia,” said David Tang, K&L Gates’ Managing Partner, Asia.

Dwyer commented: “We are excited to join K&L Gates in expanding its Asia capabilities to the Tokyo market. We look forward to working with the firm’s lawyers across the continent and around the world to address a broad array of legal issues facing businesses in Japan.”

K&L Gates first entered the Asia market with the 1996 launch of its Hong Kong office, followed by offices in Beijing, Taipei, Shanghai, and in March 2009, Singapore.

Moscow: Joining K&L Gates in establishing the firm’s Moscow office are corporate partners Robert Langer and William Reichert, counsel Marina Lebedeva, and associates Anna Ryabtseva, Svetlana Vorobyeva, and Valeria Chukova - a team of skilled and highly qualified lawyers offering extensive experience in structuring business arrangements and accessing capital markets. Bridging the gap between the firm’s European and Asia presence, K&L Gates’ Moscow office will assist domestic and international companies in areas that include general corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, private equity, capital markets and securities transactions, banking and finance, energy, real estate and infrastructure, telecommunications, and information technology.

“We are pleased to have recruited such an experienced and cohesive team to establish K&L Gates’ Moscow office,” said Martin Lane, K&L Gates’ Managing Partner, Europe. “This development takes us into another major strategic market with exciting growth prospects.”

“Bill and I are delighted to be joining this dynamic firm,” offered Langer. “We believe that K&L Gates’ global reach and the breadth of the firm’s practice areas will be attractive to Russian and foreign businesses and investors and will allow us to offer advice to leading entrepreneurs as Russia continues its historic progress and we continue to grow the office.”

The Moscow lawyers join K&L Gates from Haynes and Boone, LLP.

NEW K&L GATES PARTNERS

TOKYO

J. Ryan Dwyer, III, represents Japanese companies and the Japan affiliates of U.S. and other foreign companies in complex cross-border, M&A, and private equity transactions, as well as international joint ventures, real estate acquisitions, and employment matters. He has extensive experience working with companies in the technology and transportation sectors and in advising on foreign direct investment, both into Japan and by Japanese companies overseas.

A corporate and international finance lawyer who will divide his time between K&L Gates’ Tokyo and Singapore offices, Robert E. Melson, Jr., has more than ten years of experience in Japan focusing on banking and finance, project finance, sovereign lending, and M&A transactions. He is noted for his experience in handling cross-border asset finance transactions, particularly for advising on aircraft and equipment leasing and finance and technology ventures.

Takahiro Kawaguchi’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and banking, with experience in strategic M&A, inbound M&A to Japan, cross-border reorganization, acquisition finance, and complex financial transactions. He has represented a broad range of clients such as international private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, global mobile telecommunications companies, securities companies and other financial institutions.

MOSCOW
Dividing his time between New York and Moscow, Robert Langer will continue his practice of more than 25 years advising Russian and foreign entities and individuals - including multinational companies, banks and other financial and lending institutions, and emerging market funds - on strategic and portfolio investments, joint ventures and mergers & acquisitions, raising capital on foreign debt and equity markets, and structuring and operating private equity and hedge funds. Having lived in Moscow from 1990 to 2000, he has helped structure numerous milestone transactions in Russia, including the first New York Stock Exchange listing of a Russian company since the Russian Revolution, the first Russian full banking license by a United States bank, and the first European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loan in Russia. Langer has extensive experience in matters involving oil and gas and other natural resources, real estate development and financing, technology, and telecommunications.

An experienced international transactional lawyer, William Reichert has practiced throughout Russia and Europe for more than a decade, with particular emphasis on mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures. He represents foreign and domestic investors in the energy, technology, and real estate sectors, including advising several of the world’s leading energy conglomerates on joint ventures in Russia and abroad, as well as counseling foreign investors on the purchase and sale of Russian real estate assets.

K&L Gates includes lawyers practicing out of 35 offices located in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and represents numerous GLOBAL 500, FORTUNE 100, and FTSE 100 corporations, in addition to growth and middle market companies, entrepreneurs, capital market participants and public sector entities.