David Azcue is a Partner in the Firm’s Tokyo office where he co-heads the Private Funds Practice in Japan and helps supervise the Firm’s Asia Private Funds practice. David joined the Firm in Tokyo in 2006 and was based in the Firm’s Beijing office from 2013 to 2015.
David advises alternative asset managers on a broad range of matters, including investment fund structuring and fundraising, financings, strategic M&A transactions involving sale and acquisition of stakes in private equity firms, institutionalization, carry planning and succession within private equity firms, and funds-related transactions such as continuation funds and GP-led secondary transactions. His practice focuses on primary fundraising, where he leads the team on advising across a wide range of asset classes and strategies, including buyout, real estate, private credit, infrastructure and venture capital.
David has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500, among others. Clients describe him as “meticulous”, “renowned and respected,” and an attorney who “truly stands out from his peers.” He is ranked Band 1 for Investment Funds: Registered Foreign Lawyers (Japan) by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2026, where he has been ranked for 10 consecutive years, and is recognized as a Leading Partner (Gaiben) in Investment Funds: International Firms and Joint Ventures (Japan) by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. He is a frequent speaker, author and voice for the private equity industry in Japan.
Simpson Thacher’s Asia Private Funds Practice is ranked Band 1 for Investment Funds: Private Equity in the Asia-Pacific region by Chambers Global 2026 and Chambers Asia-Pacific 2026, and the Firm’s Japan Investment Funds Practice is ranked Tier 1 by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026. Chambers notes that the Firm “stands out for the depth of its experience in private fund formation, specifically within the Japanese market,” and that the team is “familiar with the best practices that are actually adopted in the market.” The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 highlights the team’s “deep expertise in the Japanese PE market,” with clients observing that the team has “worked with almost all GPs” and “helped create the market standard.” The same guide describes David as “very responsive and hardworking” and states he “probably has the most experience with Japanese PEs in the market.”
The Firm’s Asia Private Funds Practice has won numerous awards throughout the years, including “Investment Funds Firm of the Year” at Law.com International Asia Legal Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2022 and “Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year - Japan” at the Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards in 2019.
David’s recent representations include Advantage Partners, Aspirant Group, Sunrise Capital Partners, D Capital, GLP Capital Partners, Japan Activation Capital, J-STAR, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Nippon Investment Company, Nippon Sangyō Suishin Kikō (NSSK), PAG, Polaris Capital Group, Seven Seas Advisors, T Capital Partners and Unison Capital.
David has authored the Japan chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guides: Alternative Funds: Trends and Developments and co-authored the Japan chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guides: Alternative Funds: Law and Practice since 2020. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events, including the Fund Finance Association Symposia in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
Having spent more than 35 years in Japan, David is fluent in spoken and written Japanese. He also speaks Spanish and is proficient in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese.
David received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as an editor of the Michigan Law Review, and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania.