Allen & Overy is adding four capital markets lawyers to its Tokyo operations as it targets an increasing number of structured products coming to the market in Japan. 

Two lawyers are relocating from the firm's London office, while the two new recruits are joining from Baker & McKenzie in Sydney and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. 

The new lawyers will concentrate, says the firm, on both on-going and anticipated instructions on a mix of structured finance products, particularly synthetic CDO and CLO transactions, securitizations and repackagings. 

A&O recently advised on Mizuho Corporate Bank's ¥1.27tn (US$10.39bn) collateralized loan obligation (CLO) deal with Merrill Lynch, the first synthetic CLO for capital relief purposes to win approval from Japanese regulators. 

David Wainer, a partner at A&O and head of the firm's international capital markets team in Tokyo, says: "It has been a phenomenal year for the team in challenging market conditions. Our structured finance practice has been particularly active and, on top of this, our US Law Group, launched less than six months ago, has already allowed the office to work on some major global transactions. The expansion of our team is an exciting development which will allow us to better service our existing client base across the full spectrum of capital markets products." 

Aaron Comerford joins the firm from Baker & McKenzie in Sydney, where he accrued experience on exchange-traded and OTC derivatives as well as on convertible bonds and warrants. At A&O, he will work on both synthetic and traditional securitizations. Simpson Thacher's Joshua Schwab, a US capital markets generalist and previously of Nishimura & Partners, joins A&O's US Law Group, where he will cover a range of structured finance, debt and equity work. 

Relocating from London are Emma Dwyer and John McGrath. Dwyer will focus on derivatives and structured credit products in Japan, while securitization lawyer McGrath will work on utilize his experience on a range of asset classes.