International Dispute Resolution

Our litigators represent clients around the world in international arbitrations and in disputes that bring international companies into the U.S. courts. We are highly experienced on the issues that recur in international litigations, such as the Hague Convention on Service of Process and the Hague Convention on Evidence, as well as parallel, simultaneous litigations in the United States and abroad. We regularly resolve issues of personal jurisdiction and coordinate with local counsel on the application of foreign law.

Representative Client Work

• Representing the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China in various sovereign debt collections, including successfully settling a 17-year-old judgment for the bank against the Republic of Niger. Through various federal and state post-judgment procedures, Sullivan obtained a temporary restraining order in federal court, restraining payment from a U.S. company to a Nigerian state-owned company. This led to negotiations in Paris and an eventual settlement
• Settled an international price fixing investigation against a Japanese company and SEC and criminal investigations against the German unit of an international accounting company
• Helped wealthy foreign investors in a variety of actions to recover property and money lost to fraud
• Took successful action for a Dutch pension fund against a major accounting company to obtain recovery for negligent accounting advice
• Undertook an international arbitration for a multi-national pharmaceutical company in a matter involving a distribution agreement
• Obtained a reversal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, of an order requiring children to return to Ireland, based on grave risk of further domestic violence
• Initiated and handled a self-administered (ad hoc) arbitration proceeding conducted in the U.K. under the UNCITRAL
• Successful prosecution in the International Centre for Resolution of Investment Disputes, sitting in Paris, of an institutional expropriation arbitration against a former Soviet republic
• Development of FCPA policies for use abroad
• Investigation of possible FCPA violations in connection with European and Middle Eastern activities
• Obtained the dismissal of a complaint brought by a group of investors alleging securities fraud against DeHeng Law Offices of Beijing, one of China’s largest law firms, Pope Investments II, LLC v. DeHeng Law Firm, No. 13-3250-cv (2d Cir. Sept. 18, 2014)
• Representing the descendants of Jewish art dealers seeking the return of a medieval art collection, The Guelph Treasure, they say was sold under pressure to Nazi officials and now is housed in a Berlin art museum. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. because Germany has refused to recognize the descendants' ownership of the art. This is the first time U.S. Courts have been asked to intervene in Germany's refusal to recognize the claimants' ownership of these works
• Representation of indenture trustee on behalf of bondholders of Vitro SAB de CV, in opposing the confirmation of a reorganization plan of Vitro in Mexico, and successfully opposing the enforcement of that plan under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States. This was the first time a Mexican reorganization was denied enforcement in the United States