International Litigation

Alston & Bird offers a range of litigation services in the international context, including the representation of non-U.S. clients in litigation matters pending inside the United States, representation of U.S. clients in litigation pending in nations outside the United States, and representation of U.S. and non-U.S. clients in international arbitrations situated in the U.S. and abroad.  Alston & Bird attorneys possess a variety of language skills that can be utilized in the context of international litigation, including Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.

EXPERIENCE

Alston & Bird’s international litigation experience reaches from Austria to the People’s Republic of China and beyond.  Some of the firm’s recent work includes:

• Representation of a major German truck manufacturer in litigation in Oregon, in which we won the largest jury verdict in the United States in 2006 [learn more]
• Representation of a prominent European art museum and European government in connection with the rightful ownership of precious art expropriated by the Nazi regime in the 1930s and lost after World War II (learn more)
• Representation of a French multinational mining company in compliance matters in the United States, South America and Asia
• Representations of a major European telecommunications equipment manufacturer in ICC arbitrations involving claims for hundreds of millions of dollars 
• Representation of a major U.S. microprocessor manufacturer in antitrust investigation and litigation in Japan and South Korea.

THE ADVANTAGE OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE IN A FULL-SERVICE FIRM

The New York office of Alston & Bird was founded on the principle of providing a “home” for legal services in the United States for foreign nations needing competent and effective U.S. representation.  This long-standing commitment to providing unmatched expertise in matters of international litigation has flourished in conjunction with the firm’s growth over the years.  Alston & Bird provides the entire range of legal services to its clients, both inside and outside the United States.  Alston & Bird’s membership in Lex Mundi, an international network of law firms located in nations across the world, as well as strong relationships with leading firms in major jurisdictions, furthers its ability to assist its clients, wherever and whenever necessary. 

WHY ALSTON & BIRD?

The attorneys in Alston & Bird’s International Litigation Group enjoy working with our clients to resolve matters with international implications.  International litigation often poses unusual challenges that lie outside the experience base of many law firms.  Our attorneys are genuinely experienced in international matters. Interacting with clients to reach optimal solutions in all cross-border matters, and ultimately in assuring our clients’ satisfaction, are integral aspects of the high-quality and effective representation clients will receive from Alston & Bird.  

LEARN MORE

Fraudulent Transfer

Alston & Bird represented the plaintiff (together with Oregon co-counsel) in a complex fraudulent transfer case which resulted in a jury verdict that approximately $1 billion in assets had been transferred with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud plaintiff, and awarded the plaintiff $350 million in punitive damages.

Our client is MAN AG, of Munich, Germany, a major German truck and industrial goods manufacturer. Its underlying claim arose when our client purchased an English truck manufacturing company. It later discovered that the financial condition of that English truck manufacturing company was not what had been represented, and our client filed suit in the UK against the seller alleging fraudulent misrepresentations that induced the sale. In the course of the litigation, our client learned that the defendant/seller had transferred certain of its assets to affiliated companies.

A new lawsuit was then commenced in Oregon against the defendant/seller and several of its U.S. and Canadian affiliates, alleging that (i) the asset transfers were fraudulent under Oregon’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, (ii) one of the affiliates was the successor to the defendant, and (iii) the corporate veil of several of the defendant’s parent companies should be pierced. Later, the Oregon trial court permitted our client to seek punitive damages (under Oregon law, court approval is required before a claim for punitive damages can be pleaded). A “crime-fraud” motion was granted that required the production of certain defendants’ documents that otherwise were asserted to be protected by the attorney-client privilege. The case was tried to a jury for almost six weeks, and after almost a week of deliberations, the jury announced a verdict in our client’s favor under UFTA, veil piercing, successor liability and punitive damages. The National Law Journal recognized the verdict as the largest jury verdict in the United Sates in 2006.

Art Recovery

Alston & Bird has pursued recovery of lost or stolen art and has experience in others aspects including:

• Representing the heirs of Max Liebermann in the successful recovery of a painting of his granddaughter that was taken from Liebermann’s widow by the SS in Berlin in 1943
• Representing a foreign sovereign in a dispute in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles concerning title to a painting
• Representing a European museum in a civil forfeiture case in the U.S. District Court in New York, defending against the forfeiture of a painting our client loaned to a New York museum for exhibition
• Representing the oldest auction house in the world in various claims in California and New York
• A Picasso false signature case litigated in Europe and the United States
• A de Kooning title dispute litigated and settled by mutually satisfactory sale of the painting to a European collector
• Advising numerous European and American museums, galleries, dealers and collectors in art law matters
• Representing and advising different German, Austrian and other European clients in numerous actions in the United States concerning claims arising out of World War II
• Representing and advising sovereign nations and their agencies and instrumentalities on various art related issues