Speaker details

Biography

Yuri Sugano is a partner in the Tokyo office of Nishimura & Asahi, which is the largest law firm in Japan, which employs more than 500 lawyers and provides a full range of legal services both in Japan and overseas. Ms. Sugano is a member of the Insolvency and Restructuring Group at Nishimura & Asahi, the largest restructuring and insolvency practice in Japan with more than 50 highly specialized attorneys who provide first-class service for all types of restructuring and insolvency cases. As an insolvency and restructuring partner in the firm, her expertise includes, but not limited to, insolvency and restructuring, M&A, and labor law. Actually, she is a leading partner of the Labor Law Group at Nishimura & Asahi, which specializes in a wide variety of labor law matters. With regards to Ms. Sugano’s hands on cross-border insolvency and restructuring credibility, her track record is as described below: ? Represented a counter-filing of civil rehabilitation proceedings against the existing bankruptcy case of Mt. Gox, a crypto-currency exchange which went bankrupt in 2014, in order to counter the projected payout in the bankruptcy and allow for alternative outcome. ? Filed for recognition of Japanese civil rehabilitation proceedings for DAIICHI CHUO KISEN KAISHA, an international shipping company, in 6 foreign countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Korea, in order to avoid the seizure of its vessels operating around the world and to ensure stable operations. ? Advised an unnamed audio-visual equipment manufacturer, which had headquarters in Japan and the U.S., in its negotiation with its shareholders and financial institutions in an out-of-court workout. Upon completion of preparations for concurrent dual petitions for Chapter 11 in the U.S. and corporate reorganization proceedings in Japan, we leveraged a successful settlement in an out-of-court workout. ? Were retained as Japanese legal counsel to represent the class action case in which bit-coin creditors filed a claim against Mt.Gox in the bankruptcy proceeding. ? Acted for YOHJI YAMAMOTO Inc., an Japanese apparel brand, not only in Japanese civil rehabilitation proceedings but also coordinated and orchestrated its filings for overseas bankruptcy proceedings and liquidation proceedings in order to close its subsidiaries in the U.S., Italy, and Belgium. Ms. Sugano’s recently published English articles are as follows: ? Failing Birds in the Sky: Dealing with Airlines in Financial Distress and Beyond (co-authored, 2017, October 2017 edition of Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice), ? Collection of Practical Issues Important to Small Practitioners - Japan (co-authored, 2016, INSOL International - Small Practice Issues Technical Series) ? Pensions and Insolvency (co-authored, 2015, INSOL International - An International Survey). Ms. Sugano is a member of the following professional associations: (i) International Insolvency Institute’s NextGen Leadership Program (Class V), (ii) International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals and, (iii) International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation. Finally, Ms. Sugano graduated from Kyoto University in 2001 with an LL.B. and was admitted by the bar in Japan in 2003. She worked at Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners and moved to Nishimura and Asahi in 2007. She graduated from New York University School of Law for an LL.M. in 2012. From 2012 to 2013, she expanded her expertise in M&A by working as a financial advisor at GCA. Following that, she returned to Nishimura and Asahi, where she has been a main stay in its Insolvency and Restructuring Group, as well as assisting with its Labor Law Group.