Hiroko Yamamoto is an associate in the Litigation Department and a member of the International Dispute Resolution Group. Her practice focuses on international commercial and treaty arbitration and complex international commercial litigation, including arbitration-related litigation. She has advised on disputes with parallel investigations and administrative proceedings in the United States and globally.

Ms. Yamamoto has sector experience with clients in a range of industries, including mining, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing (particularly automotive), banking and finance, as well as technology, media and telecommunications. She has advised clients in arbitration and related matters involving the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, AAA, CPR, JAMS and other major institutional rules under various applicable laws and seats, as well as litigations before the federal and state courts in the United States. She regularly handles disputes arising out of the United States, Asia and Europe.

Ms. Yamamoto’s published work on arbitration and enforcement includes “USA: Trends and Developments,” Chambers Enforcement of Judgments 2022 Global Practice Guide (August, 2022); “Enforcing Foreign Arbitral Awards as Foreign Judgments in the United States,” New York Law Journal (June, 2020); “Lessons from Perenco: Tribunal-Appointed Experts and Avoiding Double Recovery,” ICSID Review (2020); and Kluwer Arbitration Blog’s annual East and Central Asia Year in Review from 2020 to 2022. She has also been invited to speak on key topics in arbitration—such as U.S. law and practice, comparative legal approaches, strategy prior to commencement of a case, arbitral procedures, oral advocacy and the use of technology—at various fora including Harvard Law School, the Asian International Arbitration Centre, CIArb East Asia Branch’s Japan Chapter YMG and Young ISTAC (Istanbul Arbitration Centre).

Ms. Yamamoto also serves as a member of the YSIAC Council and as an assistant editor (East and Central Asia) of the Kluwer Arbitration Blog. She previously served as a vice chair of the International Courts & Judicial Affairs Committee of the ABA Section of International Law (2020-2022).

Before joining Debevoise in 2021, she worked as a litigation associate in another international law firm in New York. Ms. Yamamoto received a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was the recipient of several Dean’s Scholar Prizes and the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership. While at Harvard Law School, Ms. Yamamoto served as co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Law Journal and president of the Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association, where she co-founded the International Arbitration Workshop. She received an LL.B. takuetsu (with highest honors) from the University of Tokyo.

Ms. Yamamoto is a member of the Bar of the State of New York and is admitted to appear before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She is bilingual in English and Japanese.