Morrison & Foerster, through its joint enterprise partner Ito Mitomi Horitsu Jimusho, has landed three new lawyers following a raid of Skadden in Tokyo, including real estate finance partner Masahiro Shiga.

Shiga, who led Skadden’s Japan real estate practice, specialises in real estate finance, private equity and fund formation, banking and finance, restructuring, and REITs. Over the past decade, Shiga has been involved in the purchase of over $12 billion in Japanese real estate, and advised lenders on over $7 billion in bond issuances and securitised loans.

The other lawyers joining Morrison & Foerster  from Skadden are associates Mori Inada and Mansu Pak.

“Masa joins us at a very opportune moment. We’re seeing renewed confidence in Japan among long-term investors, and more opportunistic funds are scouring the market for attractive distressed assets,” said Ken Siegel, managing partner of Morrison & Foerster’s Tokyo office, in a statement.

In addition to its Tokyo office, Morrison & Foerster has recently grown in both Hong Kong and Beijing.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter:@ALB_Magazine.

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