US-headquartered international law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has expanded its Asian merger and acquisition and private equity practice with a new partner in Tokyo.

Edward S Johnson steps in from Paul Hastings, where he served as managing partner for the Tokyo branch. In his new role, Johnson will counsel multinational companies and private equity funds in structuring and negotiating cross-border M&As, joint ventures, restructurings and other related transactions. He also represents clients in dispute resolution and compliance matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption, regulatory and competition law issues.

Johnson is the second partner to join Orrick's Tokyo office in 2013, the other being David Case, former head of White & Case's Japan and Northern Asia practice, who is now part of the firm's intellectual property division. 

Orrick was founded in San Francisco and focuses on companies in the technology, energy and financial sectors. The Tokyo office, which opened in 1997, is its first international branch.