The firm regrets to announce that Mark L. Bronson, an internationally recognized real estate and investment management partner in our Tokyo office, died suddenly on Wednesday, November 21, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and five-year-old twins, Jack and Mariko. Mark was 44 years old.
A summa cum laude graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1985, Mark earned his law degree in 1989 from Stanford Law School, where he was editor of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. Mark joined the Firm in 2000 as a partner, was qualified as a gaikokuho-jimu-bengoshi (foreign legal consultant) and was a member of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association.
A pioneer in his field, Mark developed many of the financing and investment structures commonly used in Japan today and frequently was asked to lecture on securitization, remedies and investments in Japanese companies holding real estate. For several years, Mark has ranked in the top tier of many prominent legal directories for his real estate and capital markets expertise.
Mark also gave back to the Tokyo community, serving on the board of directors for the Tokyo English Life Line, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention, and as the chairman of the Real Estate Finance Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
He will be deeply missed.
A memorial service will be held in Tokyo on Sunday, December 9.