Professional Summary
Masayoshi Kobayashi is a senior associate at Baker McKenzie’s Tokyo office and a member of both the Finance & Projects group and the Restructuring & Insolvency team. Masayoshi has been listed as a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in The Legal 500 for five consecutive years (2020 to current).
Practice Focus
Masayoshi focuses his practice on project finance, leveraged finance, structured finance, ECA finance, trade finance, lease financing, factoring and various other finance transactions, as well as Fintech, financial regulations, PFI/PPP projects and restructuring, insolvency and debt collection.
Representative Clients, Cases or Matters
Finance/Major Projects
- Represented financial institutions and business operators in project finance transactions in connection with large-scale coal- and LNG-fired thermal power generation projects and renewable energy power generation (eg, solar and biomass) projects.
- Represented business operators, financial institutions and the public sector in a number of PFI/PPP transactions, such as concession projects (at airports, cruise terminals, MICE facilities, sports facilities and other locations) and PFI projects (for harbor facilities, waste disposal facilities, schools and school lunch centers, etc.).
- Represented financial institutions and sponsors in acquisition finance transactions in connection with leveraged buyouts.
- Represented export credit agencies (ECA) including JBIC, other commercial banks and Japanese exporters in finance transactions for Japanese companies exporting their goods and services.
- Advised foreign financial institutions on financial regulations applicable to their services in Japan.
- Advised a major US IT company regarding the lease for its head office in Tokyo.
Restructuring/Insolvency/Debt Collection
- Representing Takata Corporation with respect to its civil rehabilitation proceeding and advised the company in relation to US Chapter 11, Chapter 15 and other proceedings related to the company group’s global insolvency and restructuring.
- Acting as Japanese legal counsel for Westinghouse Group in connection with its global insolvency and restructuring project.
- Advised a European subsidiary of a major Japanese electronics manufacturer on litigation, international arbitration, provisional remedies, enforcement and other dispute resolution proceedings in various European countries in connection with the company’s debt collection project and advised the company on the legal systems of said countries.
- Represented a Japanese subsidiary of a European company in relation to civil rehabilitation, bankruptcy, litigation, provisional remedies, enforcement and other Japanese dispute resolution proceedings against a Japanese obligor.
Publications, Presentations and Articles
- Co-author, “Outline of Debt Governance in the United States,” Business Restructuring Practice in the United States, European Countries and Singapore, Shojihomu, March 2023
- Co-author, “Japan to introduce long-awaited majority voting rule for out-of-court workouts,” Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative (SGRI) Blog, February 2023
- Co-author, “Inherent Conflict between Arbitration and Bankruptcy – US/UK’s Endeavors towards Harmonization and Their Practical Implications for Japanese Law -,” JCA Journal Vol.68 No.8, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, August 2021
- Co-author, “Global Restructuring and Insolvency Guide – Japan,” Baker McKenzie, May 2020
- Contributor, “Doing Business 2020: Comparing Business Regulation in 190 Economies,” World Bank Group, October 2019
- Contributor, “Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform,” World Bank Group, October 2018
- Co-author, “An Overview of the Spanish Insolvency Law,” Turnaround & Credit Management No.161, Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, July 2018
- Contributor, “Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs,” World Bank Group, October 2017
- Contributor, “Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All,” World Bank Group, October 2016
- Contributor, “Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency,” World Bank Group, October 2015 2015
Admissions
Japan (2014)
Professional Association and Memberships
- Tokyo Bar Association – Member
- Insolvency Law Study Group, Tokyo Bar Association – Member
- The East Asian Association of Insolvency & Restructuring (EAAIR) – Member
- INSOL International – Member
- Japanese Federation of Insolvency Professionals (JFIP) – Member
Professional Honors
Listed as a “Rising Star” in Restructuring and Insolvency: International Firms and Joint Ventures, The Legal 500, for four consecutive years 2020 to current
Education
- The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London (International Financial Law LLM pathway) (2019-2020)
- Chiba University Law School (JD) (2013)
- The University of Tokyo (LLB) (2011)
Languages
Japanese, English