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Taisuke Kimoto

Partner

Los Angeles +1 424 332 4794

English
  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Taisuke Kimoto co-leads the firm’s Japan Practice, which advises a number of Japan's largest corporations as well as individuals, trade associations and governmental agencies on their most sensitive and complex legal challenges in the United States, Europe, China, and elsewhere. Drawing upon his long-standing relationships and robust business and legal networks in Japan, Taisuke serves as an ambassador of the firm to the Japanese business community and to global companies with interests in the Japanese market.

    Taisuke is a corporate lawyer whose practice focuses on M&A transactions, general corporate matters, and real estate transactions for companies based in Japan. He also serves as an outside U.S. general counsel for a number of Japanese companies and in that capacity provides advice in many areas, including dispute resolution and employment. Since 2021, Chambers Global has recognized him among the leading lawyers for Japan Corporate/M&A (expert based abroad in USA).

    Taisuke completed his legal education at top Japanese and U.S. universities and has practiced at leading Japanese and U.S. law firms. Through this experience, he is fully bilingual/bicultural and is a trusted legal advisor, frequently advising on the difference between the U.S. and Japanese legal systems, and any cultural differences often embedded in cross border deals.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters

    M&A Transactions

    • Represented a Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment company in its acquisition of a key business line of a company that designs, manufactures, and sells high precision test and measurement products and services.
    • Represented a major Japanese multinational conglomerate company on the sale of its lighting solutions business to a global private investment firm.
    • Represented a Japan-headquartered restaurant management company in its acquisition of 40 percent of membership interests of a California LLC which runs a restaurant chain nationwide with an option to purchase up to 60 percent of such membership interests.
    • Represented Tokyo-listed corporations in their acquisitions of shares of U.S. corporations and/or limited liability companies, located in various states including California, Oregon, Kentucky, South Carolina, Colorado, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Nevada.
    • Represented Japanese companies in their acquisitions of their assets including brands, software and patents, and other technologies.
    • Acted as Underwriter’s counsel for the Initial Public Offering of ADSs of a Tokyo-listed corporation on the NASDAQ Global Market.
    • Acted as a U.S. legal counsel for major Japanese financial institutions in their acquisition finance in relation to borrower’s tender offer bids (TOB) against shares of Japanese corporations as well as MBOs of Japanese corporations.

    Dispute Resolution Matters

    • Represented Japanese companies in relation to several Proposition 65 violation claims.
    • Represented a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical company in relation to a civil investigative demand from FTC as well as a class action litigation regarding California 17200 regulation.

    • Represented a U.S. retail corporation in its claim against an insurance company in relation to any loss due to the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake under its Business Interruption Insurance.
    • Assisted a Japanese manufacturing corporation for a litigation case in Los Angeles in breach of fiduciary duty of a director.
    • Represented a U.S. subsidiary of a Tokyo-listed corporation in its collection of its sold equipment located in Mississippi due to a customer’s default of payment.

    Real Estate Matters

    • Represented a Japanese family-owned company with more than 140 years of history in connection with the purchase of the Hercules West Campus in Playa Vista, California for at least $250 million in December 2016, which was the 6th largest real estate transaction in the Los Angeles area in 2016.
    • Represented U.S. subsidiaries of Tokyo-listed corporations in their acquisitions of real properties by collaborating with U.S. corporations (in California).
    • Represented Japanese investors in their acquisitions of real property in California.

    Employment Matters

    • Represented U.S. subsidiaries of Tokyo-listed corporations to deal with wrongful termination claims.
    • Advised U.S. subsidiaries of Tokyo-listed corporations on their layoff processes.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, LL.M., 2007
    • Keio University Department of Law, LL.B., 1999
    Bar Admissions
    • California
    • Japan
    Accolades
    • Los Angeles Business Journal, "Minority Leaders of Influence" (2024)
    • Named by the Los Angeles Times on its “Visionaries” list (2023).
    • Chambers Global, Japan Corporate/M&A (Expert based abroad in USA) (2021～)
    • Chambers USA, Corporate/M&A: Deals in Asia – California (2021～)
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Member, Daini Tokyo Bar Association (2001～)
    • Member, Japan Federation of Bar Associations (2001～)
    • Executive Officer and Vice President, Japan Business Association of Southern California (2012, 2021)
    • UCLA School of Law LL.M. Ambassador (2009～)

    Areas of Expertise

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