Hajime Iwaki

Having started his career in corporate practice, Hajime Iwaki has spent more than two decades as a corporate lawyer in international law firms. During his career, he has been advising multinational corporations on governance and compliance matters, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, creditor rights issues, and commercial litigation and arbitration. During his time at O'Melveny & Myers, he worked on private M&As, distressed assets acquisitions, and corporate restructurings, while assisting motion picture studios and videogame publishers to support its entertainment practice.

Before establishing his own office, he was a partner of DLA Piper and the head of corporate in its Tokyo office, advising multinational clients on a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters, and he built its employment practice as a founding member of the office.

He is licensed in Japan and California and worked for two years in Los Angeles. His native language is Japanese, and he has full professional proficiency in English.

See LinkedIn Profile

Bar Admissions
California, 2004
Japan (Tokyo Bar Association), 1997

Professional Experience
DLA Piper Tokyo Partnership, 2006-2016
O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Tokyo and Los Angeles, 2000-2006
Yanagida & Partners, Tokyo (f/k/a Yanagida & Nomura), 1997-2000

Education
LL.M., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2003
B.A., Waseda University, 1994

Languages
English
Japanese

Memberships and Activities
Member, Foreign Lawyers and International Legal Practice Committee, Japan Federation of Bar Associations, 2012-present
Member, International Committee, Tokyo Bar Association, 2010-present
Member, Study Council for Promoting Translation of Japanese Laws and Regulations into Foreign Languages, Ministry of Justice, 2012-2015

Publications
”New amendments to Japanese privacy law,” DLA Piper Newsletter, co-author, 2015
”Whistling while they smirk, or eyeing the door?,” Asian-Mena Counsel Volume 9 Issue 10, co-author, 2011
”Renaissance of Reorganisation Proceedings?, AsianCounsel vol 7 Issue 5, 2009
”Over-time allowance exemption in Japan and the McDonald's case,” DLA Piper Newsletter, co-author, 2009
”International License Agreements, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry FY 2006 "J-Pitch" “International Co-production Development Foundation Project for Motion Picture Contents, Vol. 4, 2007
”Hostile Takeovers in Japan: the UFJ Example”, in the IFLR Guide to Japan, co-author, 2005