|
Major U.S. companies have had international operations for a long time. However, medium and small sized U.S. companies, called SME’s in international parlance, are just catching up to the trend toward globalization. In contrast, non-U.S. companies, historically generally SME’s, and high net worth individuals have been investing outside of their countries for many more years. Carlton Fields’ lawyers have been assisting U.S. and non-U.S. companies, both large and SME’s, as well as individuals inside and outside of the U.S. for more than thirty years. Carlton Fields’ lawyers act as problem solvers and facilitators for U.S. and non-U.S. businesses and individuals allowing them to compete in this ever expanding business world.
Our international client base is extremely diverse both geographically and in terms of industry focus. Carlton Fields represents clients from all over the world with business and investment interests around the globe. While we have tremendous expertise in Latin American business and clients, as you might expect from a firm located in the gateway to Latin American business, we also have expertise in regions that you might not expect. We represent clients that do business in and from China, many other parts of Asia, Australia and New Zealand and in and from all parts of Europe. Our industry focus is broad. We represent clients in many diverse industries such as aviation, financial services, capital markets, insurance; infrastructure, construction, commercial lending; information technology, sports, telecom, manufacturing; energy, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Our lawyers also understand the business of our clients. Many of our lawyers have been either in house counsel or have dealt with specific industries and clients for extended periods of time. Many of our lawyers become trusted advisors to businesses and individuals. We become a part of the client’s team while lending an objective and knowledgeable point of view to our clients.
Our International Practice integrates the services of internationally experienced attorneys from across the firm’s offices and practices in order to allow those Carlton Fields lawyers most capable of dealing with a specific client’s issues to focus on and effectively and efficiently effectuate the client’s desired solution. Carlton Fields lawyers speak nine foreign languages and many have lived outside of the United States. Our attorneys have developed cultural sensitivities that result in an intelligent understanding of the environments and the forces our clients face in their global ventures. It is important to note that Carlton Fields has world-wide law firm contacts that it uses regularly to ensure that the correct expertise is brought to bear in the country or countries in which our clients operate. In addition to our extensive Globalaw network of firms, individual lawyers have established working relationships with law firms throughout the world. Clients come to the region well introduced and, in many cases, this makes a difference in the establishment of successful business operations.
Our International Practice provides a wide range of client services to help U.S. and non-U.S. companies and high net worth individuals develop or expand their global operations and outreach. The following list of representative matters is illustrative of both our expertise and our services:
Click here for a list of representative International Trade & Transaction Practice matters.
Cross-Border Business Transactions
Carlton Fields has extensive experience handling both inbound and outbound transactions for multinational corporations, SME’s and international investors. Working with our tax, antitrust, employment, intellectual property, and securities partners, as needed, Carlton Fields lawyers structure, negotiate, and implement cross-border entity sales, mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, joint ventures, private equity investments, strategic investments, and commercial contracting relationships for our clients around the world. Unlike many much larger law firms, we can represent clients in contracting around the world for their day to day operational needs. For example, we have implemented contracts for the distribution of goods and services on every continent. We represent non-U.S. clients in inbound business transactions including real estate transactions, distribution of goods and services, broadcast rights sales, all types of contracting, infrastructure investment, government procurement, entity sales, mergers and acquisitions and other business operations in the United States. We often also represent non-U.S. clients in business transactions outside of the U.S.
Multi-jurisdictional Projects
We consider our expertise in implementing multi-jurisdictional projects second to none. Companies often do business or wish to do business in many jurisdictions in a particular region. Business does not respect borders as it proliferates. In house counsel is often called on to assess the ability of the company to accomplish certain business goals in a region or to assess the best location for a regional headquarters. Carlton Fields has substantial experience in facilitating answers to these kinds of questions. Whether it is “Can I sell … in 20 countries in Latin America without the necessity of governmental approval or establishing bricks and mortar presences in those countries” or “Where is the best place to locate among the 10 countries of the region,” Carlton Fields lawyers, acting in collaboration with its word-wide law firm contacts, can efficiently and effectively facilitate an answer.
Securities/Capital Markets
Carlton Fields has experience assisting companies in raising capital through debt financing, equity investment, hybrid securities, venture capital, and tax-exempt debt financing. We assist companies in non-U.S. offerings, conducted under the exemption from registration with the SEC provided by Regulation S of the Securities Act. We also offer assistance to foreign companies interested in global registered offerings conducted simultaneously in foreign markets and the U.S., accessing U.S. capital markets with either public offerings registered with the SEC or Rule 144A transactions. In addition to handling equity investment and debt financing, we also offer clients experience in complex project and structured finance transactions across the globe.
International Dispute Resolution and Litigation
The firm has represented clients from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, South America, and Central America in business litigation and international disputes of all kinds. We have experience in dealing with the diverse issues that arise in litigation that transcends our own national boundaries, including contending with international treaties on the taking of evidence abroad, the reach and limitations of the jurisdiction of United States courts over foreign controversies, disputes concerning the appropriate forum for litigating international disputes, the enforceability of "blocking" statutes enacted by foreign nations to control the procedural course of litigation, differences among judicial systems in civil law and common law countries, proof of foreign law, choice of law issues, and working cooperatively with foreign counsel from around the globe to advance our clients' interests.
International Tax Planning
Carlton Fields’ International Tax attorneys have extensive experience in strategic tax planning and tax implementation strategies associated with multi-jurisdictional, cross-border transactions. Our attorneys regularly deal with international tax matters of all types, including tax planning for U.S. and non- U.S. based multinationals, structuring inbound and outbound business and real estate investments, handling international tax controversies before the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and in the courts, and carrying out specialized planning involving transfer pricing and tax credits. Our lawyers handle all aspects of corporate and commercial taxes representing public and private companies, both buyers and sellers, in international mergers and acquisitions.
International Corporate Compliance
Our attorneys are experienced in providing compliance assistance to companies with global operations in connection with their preparation to transition to a public company; response to issues raised by “whistleblowers”; investigation of alleged violations of corporate governance controls, FCPA, and other issues; design of compliance programs such as employment policies and FCPA policies; and training with respect to legal compliance issues. We provide clients counsel and advice with respect to structuring and documenting an international corporate compliance program and work with clients to develop and implement systems and protocols to ensure they operate in a legal and consistent fashion.
Global Product Branding and Patent Protection
Clients receive comprehensive, in-depth services for creating, maintaining, managing, licensing, protecting, and enforcing intellectual property rights. We advise and counsel our international clients in acquiring, perfecting, and transferring rights to intellectual property. Our services include the preparation of all necessary federal, state, and international registrations of copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks, and other intellectual property rights. Additionally, we prepare the appropriate assignments, licenses, or other forms of transfer for the acquisition or sale of rights in intellectual property.
Carlton Fields attorneys also have extensive experience in prosecuting applications for patents and trademarks and other representations of our clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and before numerous international and foreign patent and trademark offices. Our Intellectual Property attorneys have prosecuted patents and trademarks or conducted trademark oppositions or cancellation proceedings in 39 countries in the past few years.
International Wealth Preservation & Estate and Trust Planning
Our attorneys have extensive experience in international private wealth protection matters including estate planning and administration and structuring international operations. Our attorneys advise clients on family business and governance issues, as well as preserving family wealth. We help our clients form both domestic trusts and offshore trusts, including domestic trusts that are intentionally designed to be characterized as foreign trusts for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We also help our non-resident clients form offshore trusts in jurisdictions that are not on the so-called “black list” issued by the non-resident client’s country of residence.
|