King & Spalding will open an office in Tokyo, the firm’s eighteenth office overall and tenth office outside the United States. The new Tokyo office, along with the firm’s Singapore office, will anchor King & Spalding’s market-leading energy practice throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Joining King & Spalding as partners are Ashurst partners John McClenahan, Mark Davies, and Chris Bailey in Tokyo, and Rupert Lewi in Perth, who will form the core team and launch the firm’s Tokyo office.

Well-known in the Tokyo market, this highly-regarded group represents major Japan- and Korea-based actors in the energy and resources sector including export credit agencies and financial institutions, as well as some of Japan’s largest trading houses, public natural gas companies and other blue chip project sponsors and participants.

They have extensive experience supporting the development, financing and acquisition of, and resolution of disputes arising out of, major energy projects globally, including power generation facilities, gas pipeline infrastructure, floating production storage and offloading vessels, and LNG terminals.

The Tokyo office, the firm’s second in Asia, will focus on cross-border investment, project development, project finance, and global disputes work. It is expected to capitalize on the momentum of the firm’s Singapore office where there are 10 resident partners.

“The King & Spalding name is a calling card in the energy and international arbitration space in Asia,” said McClenahan. “As a platform for growth, we see this as a great opportunity for each of us and we are excited about collaborating with our new colleagues across the firm.”

McClenahan, who will serve as managing partner for King & Spalding’s Tokyo office, has worked in Tokyo for over 20 years and played a lead role in the building of Ashurst’s Japan/Korea practices. He specialises in banking and project finance and advises lenders, sponsors, project companies and contractors on major infrastructure projects, including in the power, petrochemicals and transportation sectors. He also advises clients on acquisition finance, structured finance transactions, cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures.