Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's practice is praised by clients for its ability to provide 'well-balanced' advice on the full gamut of capital markets transactions, including cross-border liability management transactions, private equity matters, and IPOs. The group regularly assists clients with sustainability-linked bonds, M&A transactions, and global bond offerings. Jon Gray, Ken Lebrun, and the 'outstanding' Christopher Kodama, the latter of whom was promoted to partner in July 2023, all jointly lead the Tokyo-based team. Associate Chihiro Sasaki is noted for his knowledge of SEC-registered and private offerings, often advising underwriters and insurers.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘We consider them the best in the capital markets & M&A areas in Japan in terms of the expertise and willingness to help and quick response time. We feel that they care about us and they do understand our internal policy requirements. We have used them extensively on US regulatory work and they were quite helpful.’
‘Jon Gray is my favorite US law partner for Japanese issuers’ capital markets deals and generally for anything related to US law (as he can check with his US colleagues quite quickly for me). He is very considerate, responsive and always think about us first and very knowledgeable and has a sound judgment (plus a lovely personality which is very important). His Japanese language capability is excellent. Chris Kodama is very helpful as well.’
Key clients
- Development Bank of Japan
- Nippon Life Insurance Company
Work highlights
- Advised the international joint lead managers on the IPO and TSE listing of SBI Sumishin Net Bank (approximately $431.5m).
- Advised the international joint lead managers on the IPO and TSE listing of TMS (approximately $20.5m).