A partner of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky &...

A partner of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker is believed to be the first Japanese national to head a U.S. law firm’s office in Japan. Kaoruhiko Suzuki, received approval from the Japanese government to become a gaikokuho jimu bengoshi, a foreign business lawyer. Suzuki, who joined Paul, Hastings in 1975 and became a partner in 1984, has built a practice that revolves around representing Japanese interests in the United States, including such joint ventures as the General Motors-Toyota auto plant in Fremont.

The 41-year-old Suzuki, who was born in Tokyo, left Japan as a high school student to participate in an exchange program at St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H. Suzuki continued his undergraduate education at Harvard College and earned a law degree there in 1975.