Masa Yamaguchi
Ballard Spahr LLP
Recognized for
Corporate Law
The Elite Counsel Perspective
Trusted as outside general counsel to Japanese clients, Masa excels in corporate law, with exceptional cross-border judgment and co-leadership of his firm’s Japan practice.
Trusted as outside general counsel to Japanese clients, Masa excels in corporate law, with exceptional cross-border judgment and co-leadership of his firm’s Japan practice.
Overview
Masa Yamaguchi co-leads Ballard Spahr’s Japan practice and advises clients on corporate matters, including contracts, mergers and acquisitions, securities, corporate governance, and compliance. A substantial part of his work involves advising global corporations on cross-border transactions and disputes in the United States, drawing on his language skills, work experience, and understanding of Japanese culture.
Masa regularly serves as outside general counsel to Japanese clients. In that role, he advises on business formation, governance, acquisitions, compliance, and divestitures. His experience also includes multinational antitrust criminal investigations and antitrust class actions.
Active in the legal and business community, Masa is the immediate past chair of the Japan-America Society of Oregon and a member of Shokookai of Portland, the Japanese Business Association of Portland.
Representative Experience
- Represented Hoosiers, a Japan-based real estate company, in its joint venture with Wilshire Capital
- Advised Hoosiers on the JV agreement, service agreement, loan agreement and loan modification agreements for the development of the Canyons Apartments
- Represented Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. in its $310M acquisition of Sid Richardson Carbon, Ltd
- Represented a Japanese restaurant chain's divestiture of assets to its joint venture partner
- Represented a Japanese company in the divestiture of its equity interests in a developer of dietary supplements
- Represented a Japanese regional bank's reorganization in the United States
- Represented a Japanese shareholder in its dispute with another shareholder of a closely held U.S. corporation
Education
- Lewis & Clark Law School (J.D. 2008)
Business Law Certificate
Recipient of Research Fellowship Program
Minority Law Student Association - Portland Community College (Paralegal Certificate Program 2004)
- Dokkyo University (B.A., French, 1996)
Admissions
Oregon
Honors & Recognition
The Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, 2025-2027
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Corporate, 2021
Thomson Reuters, "Oregon Rising Star," Antitrust Litigation, 2017; Mergers & Acquisitions, 2018-2019
Lewis & Clark Law School Small Business Legal Clinic, “Pro Bono Champion,” 2021
Professional Associations
- Oregon Bar Association, International Law Section, Past Chair
- Oregon Minority Lawyers Association
- Oregon State Bar, Business Law Section
- Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Languages
Japanese - Native