Takeshi Iitani focuses on domestic and cross border M&A, joint ventures, strategic alliances and start-up investment, while also handling corporate governance, securities, insolvency, competition, intellectual property, employment, privacy and other general corporate matters involving daily business operations. Takeshi also has extensive experience in dispute resolution.

He is highlighted as a “Recommended Individual” in the Corporate/M&A ranking and as a key lawyer the TMT ranking (2023-24) of Legal 500, and recognized in the category of Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Law in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers awards for Japan.

Takeshi started his career at a major Japanese consumer product manufacturer in 1998, where he worked in the human resources and legal departments. Thanks to his in-house experience, Takeshi understands the importance of providing concrete, practical, and relevant advice to clients.

Takeshi was admitted to the Japanese Bar in 2008 and began his career at the Tokyo office of O’Melveny & Myers. He then moved to White & Case, and then joined Mangyo and Eric to establish southgate. He rejoined the firm in April 2021 after spending two years practicing in a wide variety of general corporate matters and M&A for domestic and international clients at a Japanese firm with strong expertise in employment law.

Takeshi is currently an outside audit & supervisory board member of AsiaQuest Co., Ltd.

• Co-author, “Venture Capital 2024” as part of Lexology’s Panoramic series, March 2024
• Co-author, “the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Proposed Regulations regarding Non-compete Clauses,” October 2023 issue of Business Homu (in Japanese)
• Co-author, “Q&A: process for venture capital investments in Japan,” as part of Lexology’s Getting the Deal Through series, March 2023
• Co-author, “Snapshot: economic terms for venture capital investments in Japan,” as part of Lexology’s Getting the Deal Through series, March 2023
• Quoted in the March 8, 2023 Asian Business Law Journal cover story “Business Blossoms”
• Comment in “New Ways of Working,” Thomson Reuter’s online magazine Asian Legal Business (ALB), October 2021
• Co-author, “Drafting of Termination Clause in English Contracts,” August 2019 issue of Business Homu (in Japanese)
• Co-author, “Recent Delaware Supreme Court Decision: Liability for Negotiating Terms Significantly Different from Those in Non-Binding Term Sheet,”  Mergers & Acquisitions Research Report Online, September 2016 (in Japanese)
• “Stock-for-Stock Acquisitions of Foreign Companies by Third-Party Allotment,” August 2016 issue of Business Homu (in Japanese)
• Featured in an article in the May 18, 2016 Nikkei Business Daily in relation to force majeure and related legal doctrines in connection with natural disasters such as the Kumamoto Earthquake (in Japanese)
• Co-Author, “No Remedy for Financial Companies That Trusted Illegal Ministry Orders?” May 2012 issue of CREDIT AGE (in Japanese)

• “Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) Practice – Points to keep in mind as a CLO,” webinar hosted by Japan Association for Chief Legal Officers (JACLO), April 2023 (in Japanese)
• Spoke on key issues facing startup founders in Japan at an event organized by the Digital Transformation Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), February 2023

• Best Lawyers – Corporate/M&A Law, Tokyo, 2024-2025
• The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – “Recommended Individuals” in Corporate and M&A: Independent Local Firms, Japan, 2025
• The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – “Other Key Lawyers” in Corporate and M&A: Independent Local Firms, Japan, 2023-2024
• The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – “Other Key Lawyers” in TMT: Independent Local Firms, Japan, 2023-2024