Nigel Collins

Partner and Head of Japan Desk

Nigel is the head of our Japan desk and is a senior corporate lawyer with deep knowledge and experience of Japan and Japanese business. He typically acts for individuals, start-ups, partnerships, and private and listed companies. Nigel specialises in advising Japanese corporates on outbound, cross-border transactions into the UK and Europe, ensuring a smooth transition by helping them bridge the cultural and commercial gap. He is fluent in Japanese, and mantains a wide network of contacts in both the UK and Japan, including running the Japan GC Network on LinkedIn.

“Clients immediately sense a bond and feel at home discussing matters”

“Everything I do is international. My work and clients span all sectors. Either my clients are Japanese, Asian or international, or the transaction or matter itself crosses borders.

As a Japanese speaker with a deep understanding of Japanese and Asian culture, clients immediately sense a bond and feel at home discussing matters. They appreciate my commercial approach to the law, which is based on my background in business and having been a business owner myself before becoming a lawyer.

Japan is well known for its extremely high-levels of customer service. Here at RPC, we take pride in delivering at this high level on all engagements and interactions with our clients.”

Nigel’s recent work highlights:

Long-term advisor to Japanese-owned National Car Parks, including being on secondment to its Executive Team during 2023 and advising on its ongoing restructuring.

Advising several Japanese trading firms on investments, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

Advised LevelUp on its acquisition of Zevero, a UK climate technology business.

Directory quotes

"Nigel Collins is our trusted advisor for any UK matters that come from our Japanese clients. He always knows something about anything in the UK and has guided our clients to get where they wanted to head. His M&A experience and skills are superb." - Legal 500 UK 2023

"Nigel Collins has a strong affiliation to Japan, its enterprises and its culture. He knows how to interact with Japanese clients, which requires a lot of reading-between-the-lines due to the entirely different communication culture." - The Legal 500 UK 2022

"Nigel Collins – everyone who does Japan-UK deals know him as one of the star individuals; he is surprisingly approachable and friendly, and most importantly, truly understands how Japanese company M&A works in foreign jurisdictions, especially in the UK." - The Legal 500 UK 2022

A prominent player handling both domestic and cross-border transactions, with notable experience of handling deals in East Asia. - Chambers UK 2021