Ohno & Partners, while a boutique intellectual property firm, features attorney-at-law Tomomine Ichihashi and patent attorney Shinji Kato – both of whom speak Mandarin and have experience of working in China. Clients are eager to praise the trade mark know-how of partner Hitoshi Nakamura. "He is always very professional, timely and excellent with his advice," notes a client of Nakamura. However, the hallmark case that defined the practice this year was handled by managing partner Seiji Ohno and Yoshitaka Inoue. The team represented Samsung in launching patent infringement lawsuits against Sharp regarding its LCD technology that were settled in favour of Samsung. The decision marked the first time a Korean company was able to win a patent infringement case against a Japanese company in Japanese District Courts. "I would characterise their service and advice as top-notch," says a trade mark manager in the US. "They provide us with sound advice based on local law, and in very well written English." Ohno & Partners also acts for Matsushita Electric Industrial, NTT DoCoMo, Dentsu, Mitsubishi Corporation and Diversey.