Ismail was a legal associate at the firm from 2010 to 2012 before holding various roles elsewhere, including as head of litigation at Melanie Legal. Most recently, he served as head of the Content Regulation Department at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

He specialises in commercial and corporate litigation, shareholder and contractual disputes, debt recovery, insolvency, fraud and asset recovery, employment disputes and regulatory matters. His expertise further extends to M&A, corporate restructurings, legal due diligence and the drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements.

“Imran’s appointment is a strategic addition to our litigation, and shipping and maritime practice groups. Having started his legal career with Zul Rafique & Partners in 2010, he has since developed a strong track record in complex commercial disputes and built significant experience advising businesses on contentious, corporate and regulatory matters,” Lukman Sheriff Alias, managing partner at Zul Rafique & Partners, told Asia Business Law Journal.

“His experience as a head of litigation prior to this role has also given him valuable insight into managing complex matters and understanding the broader commercial considerations that our clients face.”

Alias said the firm would continue to grow its litigation, and shipping and maritime practices, but “in a considered and strategic manner”.

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Rishi joins from Sidley Austin, where he was a partner for more than six years. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Linklaters London office.

He advises on acquisitions, investments, sales, restructurings, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia and India. His experience also covers the full investment lifecycle, including early-stage and growth capital investments, pre-IPO rounds, minority, hybrid and control transactions, and buyouts.

White & Case has been expanding its M&A practice rapidly over the past year, adding 30 lateral partners worldwide.

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Jefferson spent more than 21 years at Baker McKenzie, having served as co-head of the Australian healthcare and life sciences group. She was also a member of the firm’s Asia-Pacific healthcare and life sciences steering committee.

Her expertise spans private and public M&A, joint ventures, carve-outs, reorganisations, equity capital raisings and Australian Securities Exchange governance requirements. In particular, she focuses on the life sciences and healthcare, technology and consumer markets.

Jefferson brings more than 20 years of experience advising clients on cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

“We have a clear strategy to invest in the Asia-Pacific region, especially around core practice areas and industries, as we see this region as producing significant economic growth in the medium term,” Norton Rose Fulbright Australia Country Head Marshall Bromwich told Asia Business Law Journal.

“The recruitment of Kate, with her vast experience as an Asia-Pacific corporate partner advising clients in the life sciences and healthcare, technology and consumer markets industries, is an important part of that ongoing investment, and we are thrilled that she has joined us to help execute our strategy.”

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The global law firm said the deal involved the founder, Kim Su-kwang, and members of his family selling a controlling interest in the company. Reports indicate the transaction is valued at around KRW400 billion (USD282 million).

The Paul Hastings co-chair of the Seoul office, Dong Chul Kim, and partners Joongwon Park and Jong Han Kim led the transaction team. Partners Sally Evans, Joseph Swanson, Ruth Knox and Craig Stanfield, as well as associates Seung Jin Lee, Fiona Constant-Lotz and Michael Reeves provided support.

Ehwa, which manufactures industrial diamond tools and blades, reported revenue of about KRW361.2 billion in 2025, according to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, known as DART (Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System).

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With cross-border M&A involving Japanese companies reaching historically high levels, the seminar brought together in-house counsel and legal practitioners.

Titled Cross-border M&A: Practical Insights and Recent Trends, the seminar featured AMT partners Koichi Saito and Hiroshi Ogura, together with senior associate Jesco Lindner. Saito moderated the discussion, while Ogura and Lindner shared perspectives drawn from Japanese and European legal practice.

The speakers explored the legal and commercial complexities that distinguish cross-border deals from domestic transactions, covering due diligence, contractual risk allocation and post-merger integration. They also examined evolving market practices, including the growing use of warranty and indemnity insurance.

Other topics included jurisdiction-specific risks that can affect cross-border transactions, including Japan’s stringent labour laws and the potential liability for unpaid wages, facilitating payment issues in Thailand, tax risks in India, notarisation requirements for share transfers in Austria, and Hong Kong’s stamp duty requirements.

The interactive session comprised live audience polling on the issues most relevant to in-house counsel. Participants identified due diligence challenges as the topic most closely aligned with their current work, followed by post-merger integration.

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Rhoda joins from Dentons, where he spent more than seven years and served as the head of international arbitration in Hong Kong.

In his new role, he will be based in the UK, but will work across the firm’s London and Hong Kong offices.

Rhoda specialises in international arbitration and cross‑border litigation, with extensive experience handling complex commercial and investment disputes across the financial services, technology and energy sectors.

“Rob’s practice fits very well within Mishcon de Reya both in Hong Kong and in London, he complements the existing Hong Kong litigation practice of partner Mark Davis, and Mishcon de Reya’s disputes powerhouse platform and client base offers Rob many opportunities to develop his international practice,” Greg Falkof, head of international arbitration at Mishcon de Reya, told Asia Business Law Journal.

Falkof said international arbitration remained a key focus for the firm and confirmed plans to expand the international disputes team in Hong Kong.

“International arbitration is a priority area for growth across our network. We’ve recently invested into growing our Middle East international arbitration practice with two star partner hires into our UAE offices, and we’re also aiming to further develop our Asia-Pacific international disputes practice out of Hong Kong,” he said.

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In an exclusive with India Business Law Journal, Shroff said, “I am particularly interested in the idea of investing in people at points in their careers where the impact can multiply.

“For me, this is a form of intellectual philanthropy – about investing in people, knowledge and institutions, particularly institutions that can continue creating value long after the original contribution has been made.”

This initiative is the brainchild of Shroff and will be independent of CAM. “This is a personal philanthropic commitment to the profession. The intention is not commercial. Nor is it about creating another platform for the firm,” Shroff said.

“If you look at how we develop lawyers, there is a gap. We invest enormously in developing technical expertise.

“But the transition from being an outstanding lawyer to becoming an outstanding institutional leader is still largely left to experience, individual mentors, luck and circumstance. I don’t think that is sufficient for where the profession is going. That is fundamentally why we are creating the academy.”

On the need to nurture the next generation of GCs, Shroff said, “If you help develop a general counsel into a stronger leader, the benefit does not remain with that individual. It travels into the organisation they advise, the board and management teams they work with, the legal function they lead, and the younger lawyers they mentor.”

The initiative was formalised through a memorandum of nnderstanding signed on 8 August 2026 at the IIMA campus in Ahmedabad.

The academy will focus on executive education, research and thought leadership for GCs, with an emphasis on the expanding role of legal leaders within businesses.

The press release confirmed that the programme would address areas including boardroom and enterprise leadership, business strategy and finance, governance and risk, organisational behaviour, technology and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and emerging regulatory risks. It will also provide opportunities for peer learning, international exposure and knowledge creation on the future of legal leadership.

IIMA brings its expertise across strategy, finance, negotiation, organisational behaviour, decision science, AI and public policy to the initiative. The partnership was intended to combine this management expertise with the legal and professional experience of senior GCs to create a specialised platform for leadership development within the in-house legal community, the press release stated.

Shroff said, “There is also an important moment for India behind this. Indian businesses and institutions are becoming larger, more sophisticated and more global. The environment in which they operate is becoming considerably more complex.”

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Alluri brings more than 16 years of experience across litigation, arbitration, insolvency, banking, and civil and commercial disputes.

Prior to joining Juris Prime, he was a partner at TLH Advocates & Solicitors and Fox Mandal & Associates, and served as in-house counsel at a leading omnichannel retail company.

His practice encompasses advising government organisations and private sector clients across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states on complex litigation and regulatory matters. During his career, he represented multinational corporations, domestic businesses and government entities in commercial disputes, contractual matters, regulatory advisory, commercial leasing, and business risk mitigation. He has also led property leasing and compliance functions at a national level, combining strong litigation expertise with a deep understanding of commercial considerations.

Radha joins as partner in the healthcare and medico-legal practice, bringing a distinctive multidisciplinary background. She has more than a decade of leadership experience in the healthcare sector, having served as general manager at Good Health Plan and subsequently as insurance head at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad. Her experience spans healthcare administration, hospital operations, health insurance, and the legal and regulatory aspects of healthcare delivery.

Her expertise spans healthcare law, medico-legal advisory, medical negligence, patient rights, medical ethics, healthcare compliance, professional liability, clinical documentation, risk management, insurance-related disputes, and regulatory matters affecting hospitals, healthcare providers, insurers, and healthcare professionals.

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Robson joins from Greenberg Traurig, where he spent more than two years and served as co-managing shareholder and head of the South and Southeast Asia M&A practice.

He focuses on M&A, venture capital investments and financial services transactions, with a particular speciality in the technology, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, fintech and insurance sectors. Additionally, he also advises clients on complex cross-border transactions across South and Southeast Asia.

“Jake’s appointment reflects growing client demand for sophisticated cross-border transactional advice across South and Southeast Asia. His experience advising on complex M&A, private capital and strategic investment transactions, particularly across the technology, digital infrastructure, fintech and insurance sectors, makes him a strong addition to our firm,” Satpal Gobindpuri, DLA Piper’s Asia regional managing partner, told Asia Business Law Journal.

Gobindpuri said Asia continued to be a key market for the firm and confirmed that DLA Piper would continue to expand its team in the region.

“Asia remains a key growth market for DLA Piper, and we will continue investing in talent to support our clients’ evolving needs,” he said.

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The initiative has been spearheaded by Shun Watanabe, currently an associate at the firm, who will lead the office when it opens.

Watanabe said the decision to establish the office reflected Okinawa’s rapidly expanding business sector.

“The business environment in Okinawa is evolving rapidly through the emergence of startups, the expansion of international business, the growth of tourism and inbound demand, and the acceleration of digital transformation. As a result, the legal needs of local businesses are becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated,” he told Asia Business Law Journal.

“Meanwhile, there is growing demand among local companies undergoing generational succession for legal support in areas such as M&A, business succession, and restructuring. In response to these developments, M&P decided to establish an office in Okinawa to offer local businesses an additional choice for one-stop legal services across a broad range of practice areas.”

Watanabe said the Okinawa office would provide services to address client needs.

“The Okinawa Naha office will be equipped to provide legal services across all practice areas. In particular, we plan to offer a broad range of services tailored to the needs of businesses in Okinawa, including M&A, business succession and restructuring, support for startups, and cross-border matters such as inbound investment, including overseas investment in Okinawa’s tourism sector,” he said.

After the launch, the Okinawa branch will comprise two lawyers, who will work closely with Miura & Partners’ network of around 150 lawyers across its other offices.

The Okinawa expansion is part of a broader growth strategy as the firm also plans to open an office in Plano, Texas, later this year.

Miura & Partners currently operates six offices in Japan – Otemachi, Shibuya, Kanda, Nagoya, Osaka and Hiroshima. Across the Asia-Pacific region, it maintains offices in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. In the US, the firm has offices in San Francisco and Seattle, alongside a European office in London.

“In its eighth year since establishment, M&P has expanded its network to seven offices in Japan, including Okinawa, and eight overseas. We are also preparing to open our Texas office later this year. As part of our continued growth, we will continue to explore opportunities for further expansion, both in Japan and internationally, in line with client and market needs,” Watanabe said.

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