Withers hires APAC projects and energy team leads

International law firm Withers has assembled a projects and energy team in Asia led by partner Ean MacPherson alongside partner Fumihiko Hori and special counsel Keisuke Misuda.

The trio join from firms in Tokyo and have experience across all aspects of project development, construction, finance and regulation. 

MacPherson will be based across Withers' Tokyo and Singapore offices, having worked across the Asia Pacific region for more than 20 years including in Australia, Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

MacPherson focuses on renewable and conventional energy power projects, including offshore wind, solar and biomass, as well as data centres, joint ventures, major projects and corporate work.

He previously worked at Baker McKenzie in Tokyo, where he co-headed the renewable and clean energy group.

In addition to advising Japanese and international clients on domestic projects, MacPherson also works closely with Japanese companies investing in power and infrastructure projects externally. He has represented Japanese utilities and trading houses to acquire interests in energy, mining, and oil and gas JVs across APAC. 

Hori advises on Japan's evolving regulatory and policy landscape, with experience in energy, green transformation (GX) initiatives, national security regulations affecting inbound and outbound investment and telecom regulations especially for digital and tech sectors, including start-ups with cutting-edge technologies.

He joins from Morrison & Foerster in Tokyo, where he was advising multinational clients on energy, national security and telecom regulatory matters. 

Misuda focuses on project finance and real estate transactions, including large-scale solar and wind projects, asset securitisation and structured finance.

He also joins from Baker McKenzie in Tokyo, where he advised Japanese and foreign companies on project finance, real estate and structured finance transactions.