is one of the five largest

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

s in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The firm was founded in 1990 by ten

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

specialists who left the law firm of Nishimura & Partners. It grew quickly in ensuing years, with 33 attorneys as of 1998 and more than 600 domestic and foreign attorneys and patent attorneys as of 2020. https://www.tmi.gr.jp/about/organization.html TMI is headquartered in the

Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is a 54-story mixed-use skyscraper in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 2003 and named after builder Minoru Mori, it is the centerpiece of the Roppongi Hills urban development. It is the sixth-tallest building in Tokyo at . The tow ...

Minato, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. Minato was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Tokyo, Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba, Tokyo, Shiba wards following Tokyo City's Local Autonomy Ac ...

, Japan. Its other offices in Japan include Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka and the firm also has offices in Bangkok, Beijing,

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, London, Phnom Penh, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore and

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. It opened its first domestic branch office in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

in 2012. It was the first Japanese law firm to open an office in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. TMI opened an

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

office in 2018 by acquiring the four-lawyer practice of Isamu Omizu, a former vice chairman of the Osaka Bar Association. The firm has joint ventures with the American law firm of

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (known as Morgan Lewis) is an American white-shoe international law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms ...

, the British law firm of

Simmons & Simmons Simmons & Simmons is an international law firm with headquarters in London, UK. About half of its staff are in the London office, in CityPoint, off Moorgate. It has offices in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The firm serves ...

and the German law firm of ARQIS Rechtsanwälte. The Simmons & Simmons venture, begun in 2001, was the first registered joint venture between a major Japanese law firm and an international law firm under the attorney at foreign law system. TMI's Singapore office is also shared with Simmons & Simmons. In March 2025, the firm announced a strategic alliance with Johnson Winter Slattery, an independent Australian commercial law firm. Mori Tower 201306

The firm is particularly known for its

practice, being ranked one of the top 3

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

firms in Japan by ''World Trademark Review'' and winning the "Best Japanese IP Firm 2013" award at the International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards. In 2010, the firm hired a former head of the Intellectual Property High Court as an advisor. Chambers & Partners ranks TMI in the areas of Banking & Finance, Competition/Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Life Science, Projects & Energy and Real Estate.

Notable people

* Toshiharu Furukawa, member of the House of Councillors * Isao Imai, former Japanese Supreme Court justice * Tokuji Izumi, former Japanese Supreme Court justice * Chiharu Saiguchi, former Japanese Supreme Court justice

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:TMI Associates Law firms of Japan Law firms established in 1990