Kouichi Nanba joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto as of October 1, 2014 in the role of special counsel.

Until his retirement from the position of chief judge of the Tokyo High Court in August 2014, Mr. Nanba was at the forefront of judicial practice, handling a great number of cases during his time as chief judge of the General Division, the Labor Division, the Commercial Division, and the Preservation Division of the Tokyo District Court.

By welcoming Mr. Nanba as a special counsel, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto will further endeavor to provide our clients with even higher levels of legal services in corporate-related litigation.

Having retired from my position as the chief judge of the Tokyo High Court on August 31, 2014, I am honored to be joining Mori Hamada & Matsumoto as a special counsel. Over the last 35 and a half years since being appointed as an assistant judge to the Tokyo District Court in April 1979, I was assigned to various courts in Japan, where I mainly oversaw civil cases. Of that period, my 19 years’ service at the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court, where I was given a chance to work in the General Division (dealing with ordinary civil actions) as well as the Special Divisions, including the Civil Execution Division, the Labor Division, the Commercial Division, and the Preservation Division, especially enriched my professional life. Now, as an attorney-at-law, I am looking forward to using the knowledge and experience I have gained in my career as a judge in areas such as company litigation, insolvency practices, and labor cases in order to work for MHM’s clients in cooperation with other attorneys-at-law at the firm.