We are pleased to announce that Mr. Akihito (“Aki”) Nakamachi has joined our firm as a partner as of July 1, 2009.

After receiving his Bachelor of Laws from Kyoto University in 1991 and completing his training at the Legal Training and Research Institute in 1993, Mr. Nakamachi joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto Law Offices (formerly Mori Sogo Law Offices).  Following the award of his Masters in Law from New York University School of Law in 1997, Mr. Nakamachi trained at Morrison & Foerster LLP from September 1997 to August 1998, and then at Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Chicago office) from October 1998 to September 1999.  He was also admitted as a member of the California and New York (both 1998) bars in the United States. 

During the period from October 1999 to September 2003, Mr. Nakamachi served as an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP in Palo Alto, California, where he witnessed the phenomenal rise and fall of the “IT/dotcom bubble” as an insider of Silicon Valley.  From October 2003 to June 2009, Mr. Nakamachi took a position at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and was based in the firm’s San Francisco, Palo Alto and Los Angeles offices in California.  He joined Kirkland & Ellis as the very first Japanese associate since its formation in 1908, and made partner in January 2005. 

Mr. Nakamachi practices in the areas of intellectual property, technology transactions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, venture financing and M&As, with a focus on U.S.-Japan cross-border transactions.  He has successfully negotiated a variety of transactions involving intellectual property, including licensing, development, spin-offs and strategic alliances, as well as various corporate transactions in both the United States and Japan.  Mr. Nakamachi has served as counsel to a variety of Japanese and foreign clients across various industries and businesses. His clients ranged from large, matured global corporations to venture capital/private equity investors to Silicon Valley-style start-ups in both the United States and Japan.  Mr. Nakamachi also has broad experience in intellectual property and other commercial litigation in Japanese courts and the Japanese Fair Trade Commission.

We warmly welcome Mr. Nakamachi to our firm. With our desire to continually increase our capacity to handle complex legal projects, we are very positive about the addition of Mr. Nakamachi and his wealth of experience.

<Click here to see Mr. Nakamachi's biography>