Canadian P3 Expert Yukiko Kojima Joins Nossaman as a Partner
LOS ANGELES (September 6, 2011) – Nossaman LLP announced today that Yukiko Kojima has joined the Firm as a partner in its Infrastructure Practice Group. Ms. Kojima has extensive experience with public-private partnerships (P3s) and innovative project financing, advising concessionaires on numerous award-winning P3 projects in Canada, Japanese companies doing business in North America, and public and private sector players on P3s and infrastructure projects in Asia. Ms. Kojima, who joins Nossaman from Davis LLP's Tokyo office, will be based in Los Angeles and will work nationally and internationally.
"Despite—and to some extent because of—U.S. government budget shortfalls, infrastructure deal flow across the country is escalating," said Geoffrey S. Yarema, co-chair of Nossaman's Infrastructure Practice Group. "Yukiko helps us serve our growing practice in many ways. She is intimately familiar with the Canadian P3 market and is thoughtful about what translates to the United States and what doesn't. She helps us explain to our public sector clients what the private sector needs and wants; and she brings well-deserved accolades in closing not just important transportation infrastructure projects but landmark social infrastructure projects as well."
"The scope of the projects we advise on is increasingly global in nature, influenced by market conditions well beyond our borders," said Patrick D. Harder, co-chair of the Infrastructure Practice Group. "It is extremely important for us to grow our practice in a way that incorporates the changing dynamics of the industry. The addition of Yukiko—who has vast international and private sector experience—is perfectly aligned with that strategy."
In addition to her experience in Tokyo, Vancouver, and Toronto, Ms. Kojima has practiced with a mergers and acquisitions team in a top-tier New York law firm, acting on behalf of multinational businesses and financial advisors on high value, public and private business combination transactions, as well as counseling boards of directors of financial institutions and large public companies on corporate governance issues.
Among the matters Ms. Kojima has assisted clients with are: the Cdn $2 billion Canada Line Rapid Transit Project, named the North American Transport Deal of the Year by Project Finance Magazine and Infrastructure Deal of the Year-Americas by PFI Magazine; the Cdn $1 billion Golden Ears Bridge Project in British Columbia, awarded North American PPP Deal of the Year by Project Finance and North American Deal of the Year by PFI Magazine; the Cdn $130 million Kicking Horse Canyon Highway Project in Vancouver, British Columbia; the Cdn $650 million Calgary Ring Roads Project; the Cdn $250 million Alberta Schools II Project; the Cdn $497 million Toronto Forensic Services and Coroners Complex Project; and, most recently, the Cdn $90 million Surrey Pre-trial Services Centre Expansion Project in British Columbia and the Cdn $247 million Quinte Consolidated Courthouse Project in Ontario, both of which reached financial close in June 2011.
"We Canadians have been closely watching the growth of the U.S. market over the last several years and the relative position of the participants," Ms Kojima said. "In my view, Nossaman is the leading infrastructure law firm in the United States and offers me a unique platform on which to build my practice. The strength of the Nossaman team and their ability to handle virtually any client's infrastructure needs, their track record of closing large and complex transactions, and their intimate understanding of the confluence of federal and state policy with commercial transactional requirements is very attractive to someone like me, who sees a robust future in the United States."
Ms. Kojima, who is conversationally fluent in Japanese, was named a 2011 Leading Expert in Project Finance by Global Law Experts. She received her LL. B. and B.A. degrees from the University of Toronto and is licensed to practice law in the state of New York.