Eric Sedlak is a cross-border transactional lawyer with over 20 years practicing in Asia. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, financial transactions, private equity, projects and infrastructure, hydrogen, FPSO’s, LNG and joint ventures.
Eric's clients include manufacturing companies, energy project developers, construction contractors, technology companies, lenders and investors in property and data center projects. Key industries with which he has worked include financial services, automotive, food and beverage, chemicals, real property and energy.
His experience with insolvency has included protecting the rights of Japanese banks in US real estate after the Japanese bubble, the rights of lenders following the Asian Financial Crisis, the rights of manufacturers serving as strategic partners in the wake of the Internet Bubble and administering a wide range of work for LBHI in Japan in the wake of its Chapter 11 filing.
Eric served for many years as a Governor and a Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, where he oversaw the Chamber's advocacy work with the Japanese and US governments, and currently Chairs its Economic Security Task Force. He Chaired AmCham in Ho Chi Minh City and served on the Board of AmCham Singapore.
As a partner at a global law firm, Eric established and managed offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore.
He has extensive cross-border experience, having handled transactions in Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.
- Recognized as a leading practitioner in Banking and Finance, Project Finance, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions by Euromoney, Asia-Pacific Legal 500, Asia Law & Practice and Asia Law, on many occasions since 1998
- Gaiben Kyokai, Co-Chair (current)
- American Chamber of Commerce in Japan including Special Advisor to the Board, Vice President (current), Governor, External Affairs Advisory Council, Chair, Vice Chair and Internal Affairs Advisory Council, Chair, Vice Chair
- American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore, Board Member
- American Chamber of Commerce, HCMC, Vietnam, Board Member then Chair
- Moderator, FDI in Asia, Taipei, November 2023
- Moderator, Offshore Wind, Tokyo, October 2023
- Panelist, “Managing LNG in the Energy Transition,” K&L Gates LLP, Wood Mackenzie and Japan Institute for Overseas Investment’s Route to Zero Emission: Opportunities in the Evolving Power Markets Seminar, Tokyo, September 2023
- Health Care X Digital, ACCJ, MC, virtual, 2020
- Japan Hydrogen Market, 1st Annual Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Summit, virtual, 2020
- Speech, Assembly and Police Procedures: The 2020 Supreme Court Term, NYU Japan Alumni, Moderator, virtual, 2020
- Panelist, US Embassy LNG Seminar, 2020
- Wind Energy Prospects in the US, Taiwan and Japan, JOI, 2018 (Japanese)
- Comments on US-Japan Bilateral Trade Agreement, Keidanren Americas Committee, 2018
- Issues in North African Construction Projects, OCAJI, 17 May 2018
- Bilateral Trade and Investment Developments, Keidanren North America Committee, 20 February 2018
- Electronic Communications: Ethical Considerations, 19 December 2017
- Disclosure Schedules: Risk Management in Outbound M&A, In-House Counsel Symposium, 29 November 2017
- Investment Environment in Japan, NYU Pan-Asia Alumni and Investment Conference, 2 December 2017
- A Solid Trade and Investment Relationship, Japan Institute for Overseas Investment, 13 September 2017
- Japan Federation of Bar Associations Symposium on Administrative Investigation Procedures under the Anti-Monopoly Act in the Age of Globalization -- Comments on Attorney-Client Privilege and Right to Counsel, 2 March 2017
- Trade Errors - Legal, Investment and Operational Challenges, June 20, 2016
- TPP in a US Presidential Election Year - Implications for Business and Legal Practice across Asia Japan In-House Counsel Network/American Chamber of Commerce in Japan/International Lawyers Network, 1 April 2016
- M&A in the United States: Hart-Scott-Rodino and CFIUS Filings, Select USA, 1 February 2016
- CFIUS Considerations in US M&A Transactions, February 2016
- Trade Errors, 17 December 2015
- Trans Pacific Partnership and Abenomics: The Road Ahead for US Companies in Japan, 9 September 2015
- Strategic Diligence Planning, Select USA,19 and 27 May 2014
- METI Power Purchase Agreement: Observations and Risk Management, Aon, 27 February 2014
- Deconstructing Infrastructure Projects - Innovative Trends in Construction Disputes, HKIAC, 19 February 2014
- India M&A Seminar, November 2013
- US Discovery Implications for Japanese Companies Involved in Insurance Coverage Disputes, November 2012
- Commentary on Proposed Japanese Class Action System, US-Japan Business Council, November 2012
- Disclosure Schedules in M&A Transactions, October 2012
- Director Boot Camp, Board Director Training Institute, 2014
- Core Course on International Oil & Gas Law, AIPN, 2010
Chapters
- Co-Author, Vietnam, Juris Publishing's International Joint Ventures (2011, 2012, 2016)
Articles
- Key State and Federal Legal and Tax Points for US Investments by Japanese Companies (Shunkan Keiri Jyouhou), March 2017
- Transparency and the Rule of Law, The Journal, February 2017
- Investments in the U.S. Energy Sector: CFIUS and the Role of the CFIUS Process, AIPN Advisor, October 2015
- 2015 ACCJ Advocacy Vision, The Journal, May 2015
