Latham & Watkins has appointed a new head of its Tokyo office, with Hisao Hirose set to take over the role from Bernard Nelson, who is retiring this month.

Hirose, a finance partner with Latham's Gaikokuhou joint venture in Tokyo, specialises in structured finance, banking and bank regulatory matters as well as advising on bankruptcy, securities regulation and general corporate matters.

He started his career as an associate at Nakagawa Law Office in 1979, becoming a partner in 1985 and remaining with the firm until 1992 when he set up his own law firm which later merged with White & Case's JV partner Kandabashi Law.

Hirose also acted as general counsel of Citibank in Japan before joining Latham in 2004.

Retiring office head Nelson's practice has focused on international capital markets transactions, including structured finance.

Latham's chairman and managing partner Robert Dell said of Hirose's appointment: "Hisao is a talented finance partner with deep ties to the business, legal and regulatory communities in Tokyo. He brings a wealth of experience to the role, and his leadership, judgment and dedication to growing the Tokyo practice will further bolster our Japanese corporate and finance ambitions."

Hirose added: "Looking ahead, we are focused on diversifying the practice while staying committed to fielding one of the most prominent corporate, finance and litigation teams in the region."

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