On Tuesday, Feb. 25, and Wednesday, Feb. 26, Greenberg Traurig’ s Tel Aviv office was pleased to host Koji Ishikawa, the managing shareholder of the firm’s newest office in Tokyo. During his two days in Tel Aviv, Koji met with a number of current and prospective clients of the firm. As the only law firm with offices in both Tokyo and Tel Aviv, Greenberg Traurig is uniquely situated in a position to assist Israeli companies that desire to have a strong market presence in Japan.

During his visit, Koji met with members of MATIMOP, the executive agency of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of the Israeli Ministry of Economy, responsible for promoting industrial R&D cooperation between Israeli and foreign companies through partner-matching and access to funding. Specifically, MATIMOP is involved in a Japan-Israel R&D Cooperation Program that aims to encourage increased business ties between private sector firms from Japan and Israel.

Koji also presented to a group of general counsels at a breakfast seminar co-hosted by Greenberg Traurig and the Association of Corporate Counsel on the topic of “what an in-house lawyer needs to know about Japan: Corporate, Contract and Employment Issues.” Koji’s visit concluded with a sake tasting and cocktail reception event co-hosted by Greenberg Traurig and the Israeli Japan Chamber of Commerce & Friendship Society. At the reception, Koji was formally welcomed by Gary Epstein, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Israel Practice and chair of the firm’s Global Corporate & Securities Practice, and Dr. Roni Aaron Bornstein, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.

Koji focuses his practice on serving clients in corporate finance, project finance, and capital markets matters. He works with a variety of clients, including both national and international institutions, issuers, underwriters, and banking investors. He is also one of the pioneers of the casino/gaming practice in Japan. Koji often speaks at various seminars and his comments are frequently quoted in Nikkei and Bloomberg.