Tokyo-based litigation partner David Case has left Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to start his own firm – the second Orrick partner to make such a move within the last two years.

Case left Orrick in March after six years as a partner in the Japanese capital and launched his own firm, Asia Pacific Law, which focuses on intellectual property, commercial transactions, venture capital investments and disputes in the U.S. and Asia. Case will relocate to the U.S. and will be based on the west coast, according to a LinkedIn profile.

At Orrick, Case, who is a U.S. lawyer, focused on IP litigation and arbitration for Japanese clients, including matters in U.S. and other overseas courts. Previously, he practised at White & Case for more than 14 years, joining its New York office as an associate in 1998 and then transferring to Tokyo in 2002; he made partner in 2008 and was head of the Japan and North Asia IP and commercial litigation practices before leaving for Orrick in 2013.

In February 2018, Case's former partner, Edward "Ted" Johnson, also left Orrick's Tokyo office to launch his own law and consulting business. Johnson, who specialises in technology matters, also joined Orrick in 2013 but from Paul Hastings, where he had been a partner since 2000 and had served as office managing partner between 2006 and 2009.

Despite the two recent partner departures, Orrick remains one of the larger U.S. firms in Japan. The San Francisco-based firm has nine partners in Tokyo focusing on energy, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. Litigation partner Shinsuke Yakura leads the office. Mergers and acquisitions partner Mark Weeks, who served as office head from 2006 to 2017, splits his time between Tokyo and Hong Kong.

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