08 Apr 2026
A&O Shearman hires Rintaro Hirano as bengoshi debt finance partner in Tokyo
"A&O Shearman hires Japanese-qualified Rintaro Hirano as a bengoshi debt finance partner in Tokyo to bolster its Japanese-law debt finance, leveraged finance and private credit practice."
Hirano brings wide-ranging debt finance experience, including leveraged finance, energy and infrastructure financing and real estate financing. He regularly acts for lenders supporting global private equity sponsors as well as major energy and infrastructure clients across the globe. He will strengthen A&O Shearman’s Japanese-law debt finance, leveraged finance and private credit capability.
The firm said the hire reflects sustained client demand in Japan’s growing private equity, leveraged finance and private credit markets, driven by increasing inbound M&A activity from global sponsors and demand for sophisticated Japanese-law financing support. A&O Shearman partner Nick Wall described the appointment as the first time a finance partner has moved from a Big Four Japanese law firm to an international firm, indicating Hirano joins from one of the Big Four Japanese law firms where he served as a finance partner.