International

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Today’s business climate is increasingly international, and choosing a lawyer with the right experience is critical to a business’s global success.

Dispute Resolution

Litigating local disputes with international issues is different from litigating purely domestic disputes. And international arbitrations are different from domestic arbitrations as well. Miller Nash international dispute lawyers understand how to make those differences work to a client’s advantage and understand how to communicate to clients the unique nuances of the dispute resolution systems they are facing.

A party in a dispute with international issues has to plan its case differently. Foreign law may apply and if so needs to be proved. Letters rogatory may need to be used to obtain foreign discovery. And experienced foreign counsel is often necessary, to confirm what appears to be the applicable law and provide declarations for court submittal, or to assist with the difficulties of discovery in a foreign country. The New York Convention on arbitration, the Hague Conventions on service of process and evidence, or the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act may be implicated. Miller Nash’s lawyers with international dispute resolution prowess are familiar with the intricacies of litigating cases with international issues. Further, we have an extensive network of strong relationships with foreign counsel that can get the best foreign-law expert overnight when needed.

International arbitrations, unlike domestic arbitrations, are conducted before a variety of institutional tribunals under a variety of procedural rules that differ significantly from the procedures with which domestic clients are familiar. And they each have their own set of “unwritten” rules. The kind of advocacy put forward in an American arbitration may not necessarily be successful in an international arbitration. Cultural differences matter. An experienced international arbitration lawyer adjusts his or her “American” approach in particular ways to be an effective advocate. Miller Nash lawyers have handled arbitrations before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), CIETAC (China), the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), the International Arbitration Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the American Arbitration Association’s International Dispute Resolution Centre, and other well-known tribunals. Our lawyers know how to achieve the best results in these unique venues.

Miller Nash is proud to be counsel to Process Forwarding International, the entity appointed by the Department of Justice of the United States and the U.S. Department of State to effect service of foreign process under The Hague Service Convention, The Hague Evidence Convention, and the Inter-American (Panama) Convention.

Transactions

Cross-border transactions require special know-how. One needs to understand not only the laws of the relevant foreign countries but also the particular terms or issues that arise as a result of a transaction's being cross-border. What due diligence must be conducted in order to be certain that a company being sold or acquired has complied with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and its foreign counterparts? What are the methods and implications of sending an employee abroad or establishing a foreign subsidiary? What terms must be included in cross-border sales, agency, or distribution agreements to provide effective, enforceable contracts? Is a CFIUS filing mandatory or advisable?

Members of Miller Nash's international cross-border transactions team have lived, worked, and taught in several foreign countries. Selected firm attorneys and staff are fluent in a multiplicity of languages, including Mandarin Chinese (native), Spanish (native), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. Practicing foreign lawyers and law students from China, India, France, Germany, Mexico, Korea, and Japan are regularly hosted in the firm's offices for educational purposes, strengthening Miller Nash's foreign legal relationships and its ability to effectively do business in foreign cultures.

Members of Miller Nash's international practice team assist clients with:

Establishing foreign/U.S. joint ventures, foreign subsidiaries, and representative offices
Mergers, acquisitions, and sales involving foreign-based businesses
Cross-border information technology contracting, with experience in more than 35 countries
Preparing sales, distribution, franchise, and agency agreements for sales between the United States and foreign countries
Yacht purchases and sales with international registration and documentation
Customs issues, including petitions to mitigate fines or avoid forfeiture of seized goods; export/import regulations; and protection of intellectual property rights through customs intervention
Secured financing and letters of credit involving foreign-country collateral or debtors
Advice on foreign laws affecting U.S. companies doing business abroad