Nishimura & Asahi and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett were among the biggest winners at the eighth annual Asia Legal Awards, held virtually on May 8, 2021.

Nishimura & Asahi stood out from a group that included Korea's Lee & Ko, India's Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, China's Fangda & Partners and King & Wood Mallesons taking home the Asian Law Firm of the Year award. One of the largest law firms in Japan, Nishimura, also received Private Equity Deal of the Year for its work on KKR and Rakuten's $1.6 billion acquisition of Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu from Walmart. Partner Tomohiro Sato was also named energy and infrastructure lawyer.