September 10, 2026
TMI Associates (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Managing Partner: Katsuro Tanaka) is pleased to announce the opening of our new Sydney Office in Sydney, Australia, which commenced operations on September 9, 2026, as our 15th overseas office (excluding local desks).
From March 2025 until March 2026, TMI established a Sydney Desk within Australian law firm Johnson Winter Slattery (“JWS”) under a still-continuing alliance with JWS, and has since been supporting Japanese companies in their business activities in Australia and the broader Oceania region. Through the opening of the Sydney Office, we aim to establish its own local base of operations and provide more agile and comprehensive legal services not only in Australia, but also throughout the Oceania region as a whole, including New Zealand.
Sydney is Australia’s largest economic center and a key business hub connecting the Asia-Pacific region. In recent years, Japanese companies have been showing an increasing tendency to expand their investments and business activities in Australia, particularly in the resources, energy, infrastructure and technology sectors, thereby further strengthening economic ties between Japan and Australia.
At the Sydney Office, led by Masayuki Nagai, an attorney-at-law admitted in both Japan and New South Wales, Australia, we will provide support to Japanese companies across a wide range of areas including M&A, business alliances, regulatory matters, compliance, and dispute resolution, and address the legal needs of companies from around the Oceania region that are seeking to enter the Japanese market or conduct business with Japanese companies, thereby supporting two-way business activities between Japan and the Oceania region.
We will continue to support our clients’ international business activities by further expanding our global network.
[Sydney Office – Overview]
Office Name: TMI Associates Australia Pty. Ltd.
Address: Level 14, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
E-mail: sydney@tmi.gr.jp
Contact: Masayuki Nagai Masayuki_Nagai@tmi.gr.jp
Commencement Date: September 9, 2026 (Wednesday)
About TMI Associates Since its founding in 1990, TMI Associates has strived to create a law firm which is distinct from any other in Japan and to recast the image of both attorneys and patent/trademark attorneys. During the past 35 years, the firm has experienced rapid organic growth, both numerically and geographically, while maintaining its progressive culture. Starting with 43 personnel, including ten attorneys and one patent attorney, TMI now has 726 attorneys and 101 patent/trademark attorneys among a total of 1,400 personnel as of September 9, 2026, and is one of the five largest law firms in Japan. TMI has numerous branch bases overseas, in Shanghai, Beijing, Yangon, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta*, Kuala Lumpur*, Sydney, Silicon Valley, London, Paris, and Brussels. TMI is also well positioned to provide a wide range of global legal services through its Chinese service group, French practice group, India and Korea desks, located in its Tokyo office, as well as its joint venture relationships in Japan with Simmons & Simmons LLP, (UK), Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP (US), and ARQIS Foreign Law Office (Germany). In addition, TMI has a strategic alliance with the Australian law firm, Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS).
TMI provides a comprehensive range of legal services regarding international corporate transactions and international investment and trade business transactions. The firm has an unrelenting focus on supporting the global business development needs of its clients – both Japanese and global companies – with legal services spanning acquisition and protection of patent and intellectual property rights through to licensing, mergers and acquisitions, financing and dispute resolution, among other major areas of law.
*Affiliated Office
TMI Associates
Public Relations Team
Attorney in charge: Jumpei Osada (Affiliated with Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association)
E-mail: PR@tmi.gr.jp
