Vinson & Elkins has hired ex-Herbert Smith partner James Watson for its Tokyo office, reports The Asian Lawyer.

Watson, Herbert Smith's former joint head of energy and infrastructure in Japan, had been at the firm since 1996 and made partner in 2001. He transferred from London to Tokyo in 2007 before leaving the firm last year.

His experience includes advising on oil and gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable energy matters, as well as infrastructure projects. While he was at Herbert Smith, the firm was international counsel to Japan's Mitsubishi for the Donggi-Senora project, a $2.8bn (£1.7bn) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Indonesia last year.

At Vinson, Watson will advise international clients in Japan, as well as Japanese clients with business in the US and elsewhere. In a statement, the firm's managing partner Scott Wulfe said the hire would help the firm service an expected surge in Japanese deals in the energy sector, particularly LNG.

Japan, which has few natural resources, imports around 84% of its energy resources, according to the World Nuclear Association. The country is also aiming to reduce its dependency on domestic nuclear power following last year's tsunami and nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Watson will be the second partner and the fifth lawyer in Vinson's Tokyo office, which the firm opened in 2004. Herbert Smith has around 40 lawyers in the Japanese capital, where it has had an office since 2000.

This article first appeared on The Asian Lawyer.