Nishimura & Asahi Expands Team With Two New Partner
Japanese Big Four law firm Nishimura & Asahi has strengthened its newly established Brussels office with the addition of two new partners. Benoit Servais, a seasoned international trade lawyer, joins from Van Bael & Bellis, while Kristina Winkelmann, an antitrust expert, moves from Gleiss Lutz to lead the firm’s EU competition law team.
The expansion comes amid growing Japanese outbound investment, with Japanese investment in the EU valued at €236 billion ($246 billion), primarily in the Netherlands and Germany, according to European Commission data.
The Brussels office, led by Tokyo-based partner Kojiro Fuji, now comprises four partners advising clients on EU legal policies and regulations, with a focus on sustainability, digital regulation, and data protection.
Servais, with over 30 years of experience, specializes in EU regulations, trade remedies, and litigation before EU courts. Having spent his career at Van Bael & Bellis, he has handled over 160 EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations since 1992.
Winkelmann, previously an associate partner at Gleiss Lutz, brings more than eight years of experience in EU antitrust law and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). Her practice covers merger control, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance, and antitrust compliance, with representation before the European Commission, the German Federal Cartel Office, and European courts.
This move aligns with Nishimura & Asahi’s global expansion strategy, which includes planned office openings in Hong Kong and London this year. The firm has also expanded in Southeast Asia, establishing a new office in the Philippines and making partner hires in Thailand and Vietnam. Nishimura & Asahi currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, the UAE, the U.S., China, and Myanmar.