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• Akira Takahashi joins Orrick from RWE Renewables as a partner on our Energy & Infrastructure team in Tokyo.
• Akira, who is Japanese and New York law-qualified, brings deep experience advising on international energy projects and project finance transactions. He will collaborate with the firm’s Tokyo and Singapore teams representing Japanese export credit and insurance agencies, development banks, trading houses and other commercial lending institutions in their investments in Singapore and across Southeast Asia.
• Prior to his time as senior legal counsel at RWE Renewables, Akira practiced at Allen & Overy for 11 years. He also spent four years on secondment to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, where he supported their energy and natural resources businesses. His inbound and outbound experience spans the full spectrum of E&I technologies, including offshore wind, solar, LNG, hydropower and storage.
• With his arrival, Orrick has added 15 partners to its global Energy & Infrastructure platform in 2025, including Chambers Band 1 projects advisor Adam Moncrieff in Singapore, and Global Head of Oil & Gas Anna Howell in London, who is also Chambers Band 1-ranked. The firm now has nine E&I partners across Tokyo and Singapore.

“We’re excited to welcome a top-quality practitioner like Akira and strengthen our support for Japanese clients in their investments across Asia, as well as our work in inbound investment in Japan,” said E&I Partner Minako Wakabayashi, the leader of Orrick’s Tokyo office.

Orrick’s Tokyo office, in collaboration with the firm’s Singapore team, advises on both traditional and innovative energy projects across Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and other markets with accelerating energy needs. This includes leading some of the largest wind and solar projects, as well as some of the first renewables PPAs to support data centers in the region.

“Akira brings a deep understanding of the needs of today’s energy market participants, having advised on complex outbound transactions across Southeast Asia,” said Singapore-based Orrick Energy & Infrastructure Partner Michael Tardif, also a Chambers Band 1 advisor. “I’ve seen firsthand his versatile skillset and commitment to client service. We’re thrilled to welcome him as we continue building a full-service energy offering for our clients.”

“I’m delighted to reunite with my former colleagues, Michael and Adam, and to collaborate with the entire Orrick team to support our clients on their most sophisticated financings and projects,” Akira said.

Orrick is the No. 2 law firm globally for Energy Transition and No. 1 globally for PPAs (inspiratia, 2024). The firm acts for four of the top 10 oil & gas majors, 60 of the top 100 energy & infrastructure investors globally and half of the top 50 renewables sponsors worldwide.

Athletic shoe company On is facing a lawsuit from customers who claim that its popular sneakers make a “noisy and embarrassing squeak”.

The “CloudTec” sneakers typically cost around $200 (£150) and have holes in the sole designed to make users feel like they are “running on clouds”. Instead, the lawsuit says, they cause issues in daily life – especially for nurses who wear them all day.

“No reasonable consumer would purchase Defendant’s shoes – or pay as much for them as they did – knowing each step creates an audible and noticeable squeak,” the customers allege.

The company, which did not immediately respond to a BBC enquiry, has declined to comment on the allegations.

The class action lawsuit was filed on October 9 in US District Court in Oregon.

The customers say that multiple On sneaker styles are unwearable without “significant DIY modifications”. They accused the company of “deceptive marketing”.

The plaintiffs, who claim they were unable to return the shoes after complaining about the noise, are seeking refunds and other damages.

The Switzerland-based sneaker company could have “fixed the design, and/or offered to fix the shoes or [given] consumers their money back but did none of those things”, the complaint alleges, citing the Cloudmonster and Cloudrunner models, among others.

One customer claimed in the complaint that she was “no longer able to use her shoes as intended due to the embarrassment and annoyance”.

The plaintiffs in their complaint reference social media posts, on TikTok and Reddit, from other frustrated customers who have suggested at-home remedies for the noise – including applying coconut oil to the soles of the shoes.

On, which is backed by the tennis player Roger Federer, reported better-than-expected earnings in August. Its quarterly revenue was boosted by direct-to-consumer sales.

Earlier this year, the company said sales of its Cloudmonster and Cloudsurfer sneaker models contributed “significantly” to its growth.