In a strategic move reflecting redistributions within the legal industry, leading international and domestic law firms are strengthening their team formations across Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. These recruitments have seen firms enhancing their competencies in core areas such as banking & finance, construction, and dispute resolution.
Notably, Angelia Kodama has taken major strides with the steps she took from the multilateral trade system department at METI’s trade policy bureau, in which she had a 5-years tenure. Her roles included duties related to the anti-dumping agreement and government procurement agreement, along with the negotiation of free trade and economic partnership deals. Kodama had also been responsible for processes relating to World Trade Organization dispute settlement, acting as the lead attorney for both parties and third parties. This article provides more insights into this.
Kodama first cut her teeth at Shearman & Sterling in Tokyo where her legal elbow grease was applied to matters connected to securities law, internal investigations, cartels, and dispute resolution. Kodama had served here for four years before her stint as an advisor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva – an opportunity wherein she helmed matters of trade and development.
More details about these hiring maneuvers, although behind a paywall, can be accessed from the original article. This realignment within legal firms underscores the ever dynamic and evolving nature of the corporate legal landscape.