Before coming to Vanderbilt, Masa Yamamoto worked as an in-house counsel for a Japanese utility company involved in international power and water projects. “In one project, American lawyers dominated the negotiation process,” he recalled. “There were very few things I could do as a lawyer educated in Japan. So I decided to pursue a J.D. degree in the United States to know the ‘enemies.’”
However, Masa quickly found himself among friends, and law school at Vanderbilt turned out to be a very different experience from the one he was expecting. “I expected law school in the United States to be cutthroat because I had read One-L and watched the movie ‘Paper Chase,’” he said. “But Vanderbilt is different. The environment here is serious but collegial, and I made lifelong friends here.”
As an editor of the Journal of Transnational Law, Masa was exposed to articles written by eminent international legal scholars, which allowed him to learn about current international legal topics as well as how to write effectively as a lawyer. “Bluebooking also helped me to hone my skill at paying attention to details,” he said. “In Japan, mostly scholars and professional editors—not law students—work on journals. I devoted myself to the Journal, worked with great colleagues on the editorial staff, and learned a significant amount.I think my experience as an editor of the Journal taught me everything I need to know as a junior associate at a big law firm—attention to detail, teamwork, endurance and the importance of meeting deadlines.”
After earning his J.D. in 2007, Masa started his career at the New York office of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy; he transferred to its Tokyo office in 2008. The following year, he joined the Tokyo office of Ropes & Gray, where he focuses on Japan-related international mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions. He represents both U.S. and Japanese companies, including utilities, commercial banks, export credit agencies and other financial institutions. “After law school, I had hoped to get a position at an international law firm that had a Tokyo office, but I also wanted to spend some time practicing law in the U.S.,” Masa said. “I had to transfer to Tokyo earlier than I’d planned, but I hope to rotate back to the U.S. offices of Ropes in the near future. I wish we had a Nashville office!”
Masa found that Nashville had a lot to offer. “Nashville is my second hometown,” he said. “The people and the weather are both really nice. There were great shopping malls and restaurants nearby to go to. I spent much of my free time on the great but reasonable golf courses—you have to drive at least two hours to get to a decent golf course in Tokyo.”