David Azcue is a Partner in the Firm’s Tokyo office where he co-heads our Private Funds Practice in Japan and help supervise the Firm’s Asia Private Funds practice.
David has been designated as both a Global Elite Thought Leader and a National Leader in private fund formation by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal), and recognized as a leading private funds lawyer by numerous authorities including Chambers Asia-Pacific, Legal 500, Acritas and Lawdragon Insights: Private Funds, and others where clients have described him as “meticulous” and “renowned and respected within the Japanese market for his experience dealing with Japanese managers.” He is one of two attorneys ranked in Band 1 (Investment Funds: Registered Foreign Lawyers) in Japan by Chambers and Partners (where he has been ranked for the past 9 years) and is also ranked as a Leading Partner: Gaiben, in Investment Funds: International Firms And Joint Ventures in Japan, by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
Simpson Thacher’s Asia Private Funds Practice is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific, where it has been singled out as “a top player for funds work” in Japan, and is ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000 and The Legal 500. Simpson Thacher’s Japan Private Funds Practice is also ranked Tier 1 by The Legal 500. The Legal 500, quoting a client, lauded David as “one of the pioneers in structuring Japan-focused buyout funds”; Chambers Global noted that the Firm’s Asia Private Funds Practice is “among the best if not the best. They are clearly thought leaders in the funds practice.” Chambers & Partners also noted that “They really know the market standard in Japan . . . so we’re able to leverage that information to run a very streamlined fundraising process.” IFLR1000 quoted a client lauding the Firm’s practice as “one of the few groups” that can “adapt the legal perspective to the commercial” in Japan. The Firm’s Asia Private Funds Practice has won numerous awards throughout the years, including “Investment Funds Firm of the Year” at the 2017, 2019 and 2022 Asia Legal Awards and “Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year in Japan” at the 2019 Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards.
David’s recent representations include Advantage Partners, Aspirant Group, Sunrise Capital Partners, D Capital, GLP, J-STAR, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Nippon Investment Company, NSSK, PAG, Polaris, Seven Seas, T Capital and Unison.
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, in each case, since 2020. David is also a frequent speaker at industry events, including the Fund Finance Association Symposia in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
David joined the Firm’s Tokyo office in 2006 and worked in the Firm’s Beijing office from 2013 to 2015. He has spent most of the past 35 years in Japan and is fluent in spoken and written Japanese. He also speaks Spanish and is proficient in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese. David holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania with distinction.