Michael Kosuge

Mike recently returned to the Tokyo office after spending three years in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan Lovells, where he counselled clients on U.S. trademark and IP related matters and was part of the team that represented a major Japanese confectionery company in a complex trade dress litigation.

Early in his career at Hogan Lovells, Mike was seconded to a major Japanese automotive manufacturing company where he was fully integrated into the company's legal IP contract team. There, Mike prepared, drafted, reviewed, and negotiated over 400 contracts and other agreements annually, including NDAs, joint development agreements, trademark license agreements, and development service agreements in both English and Japanese. He also regularly served as a business advisor to the business development and other departments, and conducted numerous training sessions in English and Japanese on various topics. Following his secondment, the company continued to seek Mike's counsel on IP related matters and regularly requested he sit with and advise their trademark group at the company headquarters.

Mike is licensed in Washington, D.C. and Utah and has native fluency in both English and Japanese. He grew up in Japan and attended Japanese schools, later earning his bachelor's degree, law degree, and LL.M at universities in the United States. His ability to support clients in both Japanese and English languages, as well as understand and adapt to subtle cultural nuances, has enabled him to seamlessly advise Japanese and international clients alike.