The Gibbons German Practice, part of the firm’s larger international practice, includes attorneys dedicated to serving clients from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria who have business interests in the United States. Our clients range from new entrants into the U.S. marketplace to established international companies with businesses around the world, representing the manufacturing, machinery, optics, pharmaceutical, chemicals, steel, banking, and insurance industries, with a focus on closely held “Mittelstand” companies but also including public corporations. The team provides proactive advice in such areas as:
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- Corporate organization and governance
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- Mergers and acquisitions
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- Joint ventures
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- Business franchises
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- Distributorship arrangements
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- Employment and labor matters
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- Taxation
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- Financing
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- Intellectual property
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- Regulatory
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- Litigation and arbitration
In addition, Gibbons operates a highly regarded Referendar program, under which German law school graduates on a rotating basis spend part of their mandatory clerkships working at Gibbons in New York. These Referendars provide invaluable support and insight as essential members of the German Practice Team. The vast majority of Gibbons Referendars go on to practice in German-speaking countries, further expanding the firm’s network of worldwide resources.
Areas of Focus
Transactions
Members of our German Practice Team, supported by our strong and experienced bench of corporate attorneys, assist companies and individuals from German-speaking countries in connection with their corporate transactions in the U.S., including acquisitions, financings, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, divestitures, recapitalizations, and any related regulatory approvals. We work with management in the U.S. and Germany on the negotiation and documentation for such transactions, as well as the necessary due diligence investigations, tax structuring, and all legal aspects of the integration of the businesses involved in the transactions. Gibbons provides the responsive and proactive service that our clients expect to meet the demanding timelines in the transactional world.
Subsidiaries and Corporate Governance
The firm assists German-speaking clients in selecting the appropriate jurisdiction for the formation of their new subsidiaries in the U.S., structuring the newly formed entities in the most efficient way from both corporate and tax law perspectives and implementing corporate governance structures within such entities.
International Tax
Our tax attorneys advise clients from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in their U.S. matters, including tax planning for companies doing or seeking to do business in the U.S. and the application and interpretation of the temporary and final regulations implementing transfer pricing rules for transfers of tangible and intangible property.
International Trade
We help clients from German-speaking nations in matters of export controls, import and customs laws, and other legal questions related to international trade.
Litigation
Gibbons has represented German and other European-based clients in major litigations and alternative dispute resolution procedures. These cases have involved intricate questions of international law (or non-U.S. laws and their intersection with U.S. laws). They have raised complex questions concerning, for example, European Union data protection and privacy laws and have involved counseling clients on U.S. civil litigation rules regarding the production of documents, including electronic documents. Representative matters have involved a wide array of federal and state laws, ranging from suits involving non-U.S. employees to manufacturing contract disputes, intellectual property disputes, and general tort law. Certain cases have been brought under less commonly invoked statutes, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the U.S. equivalent of European anti-corruption laws), Alien Tort Statute, and Anti-Terrorism Act.