When foreign law firms in Japan were finally allowed to directly hire locally qualified lawyers, or bengoshi, in 2005, many leaped at the chance.

“I think a lot of the firms, particularly United Kingdom firms, had a model to be as local as possible,” says Piyasena Perera, a former Allen & Overy partner who worked in the firm’s Tokyo office between 2004 and 2011. “It’s a big asset for saying you’re a one-stop shop.”