Bingham McCutchen's Japanese joint venture (JV), Bingham McCutchen Murase Sakai & Mimura, has announced plans to merge with 22-lawyer local practice New Tokyo International Law Office – its second local tie-up of the year.

The arrangement, which is scheduled to go live on 1 October, will increase the number of lawyers in Bingham's Tokyo operation to around 45 lawyers.

New Tokyo, which was founded by corporate partners Mitsue Aizawa and Yutaka Kimura, focuses on insolvency, corporate and litigation work.

The move comes after Bingham set up a local JV with 22-lawyer Tokyo outfit Sakai & Mimura in January. Bingham's three existing lawyers in Tokyo – Michael Begert, Go Hashimoto and Tyler Theis – moved into Sakai's offices, with name partner Hideyuki Sakai elected to head up the combined operation for the 1,000-lawyer US national giant.

Bingham's Japanese practice boasts an additional 50 lawyers based outside the jurisdiction, covering restructuring, corporate, intellectual property, competition and litigation.