www.mwe.com
Boston Brussels Chicago Düsseldorf Frankfurt Houston London Los Angeles Miami Milan Munich New York Orange County Paris Rome Seoul Silicon Valley Washington, D.C.
Strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices (Shanghai)
International Private Client
International Private Client 2
CORE SERVICES
• Wealth transfer planning • Corporate succession &
family business planning • Creation and operation of
private foundations and other charitable organizations • Family-owned and closely
held business consulting • Family office and private trust
company formation and operation
• International tax planning • International, cross-border
estate planning
• Life insurance and leveraged asset planning
• Representation of executors, trustees and other fiduciaries
Our International Private Client Practice focuses almost exclusively on clients
with complex cross-border legal and taxation needs wherever they arise - from
the US to Europe, from Australia to South Africa, and from Asia to South America.
In 2011/12, our Private Client practice was recognized as “Law Firm of the Year” in Trusts & Estates Law by U.S. News and World Report / Best Lawyers and is among the top practices worldwide. Year after year, we have been singled out by legal and industry publications for the quality of our service and the sophistication of our counsel. From offices in key financial centers in the US, Europe and Asia, our International Private Client lawyers serve the needs of high net worth multinational individuals, multi-generational families, large closely-held businesses, foundations, estates, trusts, private trust companies, corporate trustees, and special purpose investment management entities. We focus almost exclusively on clients with complex cross-border legal and taxation needs wherever they arise - from the US to Europe, from Australia to South Africa, and from Asia to South America.
As a leading firm in the areas of taxation, wealth transfer and estate and business planning, we offer clients unparalleled, wide-ranging legal resources; as seasoned individual practitioners, we provide creative, customized representation for their most sensitive needs.
Our clients face a complex blend of individual, family and business concerns, all of which must be understood to advance their personal goals in a highly dynamic environment. Our lawyers monitor all of our clients’ legal issues, marshal and deploy resources to accomplish the strategy, and anticipate risks in changing circumstances. As personal general counsel to our private clients, we craft solutions that protect what matters most to each client.
SERVING THE FULL SPECTRUM OF CLIENTS
Our international team regularly advises a wide spectrum of private clients, including:
Internationally based families with investments in multiple jurisdictions and residents in various countries
Non-US citizens relocating to or residing in the US and individuals moving internationally who need to plan and/or restructure their affairs tax-efficiently
International Private Client
International Private Client 3
Individuals living in a jurisdiction other than their country of citizenship or domicile
US citizens and residents who are beneficiaries of foreign trusts and who will receive gifts and inheritances from non-US persons
Trustees of trusts affected by the increasing compliance and reporting requirements imposed by the US, UK and other national governments
UK resident non-domiciled individuals
Trustees affected by the UK changes to the taxation of trusts
Fiduciaries of foreign trusts with beneficiaries resident in the US, UK and elsewhere
US and foreign trustees with interests in controlled foreign corporations and passive foreign-investment GENERATIONS OF EXPERIENCE…
McDermott began as a tax law practice in 1934. Over the years, as we have grown into a full-service international Firm, we have never forgotten this core area of importance to our clients. Since the beginning, our lawyers have provided an ideal combination of wealth transfer, estate planning and tax counsel for individuals and families. Today, we continue to strengthen the International Private Client Practice, attracting many of the top legal minds in the world to our offices across the US, Europe and Asia.
The issues facing our clients often involve a unique blend of personal and commercial concerns. As a result, our guidance is never one dimensional - we help clients make critical decisions that affect important personal, civic and charitable commitments, as well as business concerns. With this broad view of our clients’ diverse needs, we identify and resolve issues that might be overlooked by even experienced counsel focused solely on business matters.
United States
Advising many of the wealthiest US families, individuals, family offices, closely held businesses, foundations, estates, trusts and special purpose asset transfer and investment management entities
Administering large, complex US estates and trusts
Representing estates in federal audits of estate tax returns
Advising on business succession, family office operations, foundation management, asset protection, trust management, investment risk reduction, diversification techniques and family dispute resolution
Advising on complex negotiations and litigation involving estates, trusts, guardianships, family businesses and charitable organizations
Representing US clients in judicial proceedings in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda involving international estate and tax matters
International Private Client
International Private Client 4
Europe
Ongoing representation of high net worth families, with individuals who are resident in multiple jurisdictions with distinct tax laws, such as the US, UK and South Africa
Advising on the establishment of family offices, family office management and ownership structures, family governance and agreements, the involvement of relatives in the family business, generational change, family philanthropy, custody and reporting, risk management, and investment approaches and philosophies
Regular engagement as international counsel for estate administrations or family trust planning, involving legal advice from numerous countries which McDermott oversees
Acting as lead international advisor on complex international trust and corporate restructuring of family interests
Representing clients with respect to enquiries and disputes with revenue services/authorities
Advising trustees and beneficiaries on trust and tax matters relating to the establishment and administration of offshore structures and the funding of multinational beneficiaries
…IN A FULL-SERVICE FIRM
For many of our clients, their myriad business concerns are inextricably bound with their personal planning. Our International Private Client Practice has the full support of one of the world’s leading full-service international law firms (more than 1,000 lawyers) to provide efficient, cross-border and cross-disciplinary counsel as follows:
Corporate formation and M&A: Choice of entity and entity formation and organization of ownership, control interests and general corporate governance to align business and personal planning, as well as advice with respect to joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and corporate restructurings
Corporate finance and securities: Private equity investments, initial public offerings (IPOs), international equity offerings and going-private transactions, as well as guidance on shareholder activism and other securities law issues that arise in US, Europe, or in cross-border contexts
Taxation: Issues concerning corporate and commercial business matters, including mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, flotations, corporate structuring, asset and structured finance, treasury management, cross-border transactions and transfer pricing
Exempt organization: Tax, governance and organizational matters related to not-for-profit organizations created by families or their companies
Employment and employee benefits: Full range of US, UK and European Union employment issues, including wrongful and unfair dismissal, executive severance, confidentiality and restrictive covenants, employee fraud, discrimination, union recognition and works councils, industrial disputes, breaches of
International Private Client
International Private Client 5
fiduciary duty, corporate governance, Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment), pensions, employee benefits and data-protection aspects of acquisitions
International disputes avoidance and resolution: Experience in public and private law, litigation, arbitration and International Disputes Avoidance and Resolution (IDAR) matters internationally, and representing clients before all institutions and ad hoc panels, as well as providing advice on disputes concerning international trade, complex contract, shareholder/boardroom, energy and natural resources, environmental, fraud, technology, sports, regulatory and media issues
US Immigration: Obtaining visas and work permits for key executives and employees, and negotiating disputes with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Residential and commercial real estate: Purchases, sales, leases and other agreements, and property-improvement contracts with architects, builders and other parties
Private aircraft: All aspects of equipment purchases and leases for individual, executive and corporate use
INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM
McDermott’s International Private Client Practice is recognized as the go-to group for high net worth individuals, families, closely held businesses, and trusts and estates by the following organizations (among others):
U.S. News–Best Lawyers named McDermott “Law Firm of the Year” in 2011/12 in the area of Trusts & Estates Law.
In 2012, four partners were named in Legal Week's International Trusts and Private Client supplement. This is a new listing of the top 100 practitioners in the field.
Chambers USA ranked our International Private Client Practice Group in the top tier nationwide from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, for the third time, we were the only firm ranked in the top tier and the only firm to have 10 lawyers ranked - five in the top tier and one as a “star.”
The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law has more members (5) from McDermott than from any other firm in the world. One of the Firm’s partners has served as president of the organization.
In 2011, the head of McDermott’s International Private Client Practice was named by the National Law Journal as one of only three Most Influential Lawyers in the United States.
CitiWealth Magic Circle Awards named the head of McDermott’s London private client practice “Private Client Lawyer of 2010,” another lawyer was runner-up for Tomorrow Club Woman of the Year and the practice was honored as runner-up for Best International Law Firm. The London International Private Client Practice and individual lawyers have also been recognized by Spear’s Legal Index.
Lawyers from our Chicago, London and New York offices were named on the Citywealth Leaders List 2012.
The head of our London practice was named as one of the ‘Top Five’ Tax and Trusts Solicitors in Spear’s Legal Index (2010).
International Private Client
International Private Client 6
Best Lawyers in America has recognized a dozen of our lawyers for years (one recognized as “Best Lawyer’ for 17 years), including the “Chicago Trusts & Estates Lawyer of the Year” for 2010 and 2012 and the “New York Trusts & Estates Lawyer of the Year” for 2010 and 2011.
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has elected more McDermott lawyers to its membership (15) than from any other firm. Three of the Firm’s partners have served as president of the organization.
PLC Which Lawyer? Private Client Handbook (2010-12) rates our Private Client Practice as one of only two leading firms in the United States and as highly recommended in England.
A New York partner was recognized in Chambers USA Women in the Law as the 2012 Wealth Management Lawyer of the Year.
International Private Client
International Private Client
CONTACT US
If you would like further information about how we can help you, please contact one of our partners or visit our website at www.mwe.com.
CHICAGO M. Read Moore +1 312 984 7576 [email protected] Andrew Stone +1 312 984 7577 [email protected] LOS ANGELES Jonathan Lurie +1 310 284 6169 [email protected] Jason Trenton +1 310 551 9302 [email protected] LONDON Martyn Gowar +44 20 577 6959 [email protected] Andrew Vergunst +44 20 7577 6938 [email protected] Astrid B. Owen +44 20 7577 3486 [email protected] MILAN Andrea Tempestini +39 06 462024 39 [email protected] MUNICH Dirk Pohl +49 172 85 99414 [email protected] Peter Bauschatz +49 89 12712 311 [email protected] NEW YORK
Henry Christensen III +1 212 547 5658 [email protected] Carlyn McCaffrey +1.212.547.5324 [email protected] Amy Heller +1 212 547 5584 [email protected] Elyse Kirschner +1 212 547 5327 [email protected] PARIS Antoine Vergnat +31 1 81 69 15 09 [email protected] ROME Mario Martinelli +39 06 462024 21 [email protected] Carlo Maria Paolella +39 06 462024 43 [email protected]
SHANGHAI
Kevin Qian
MWE China Law Office +86 21 6105 0566 [email protected]
www.mwe.com
© 2013 McDermott Will & Emery LLP. These materials may be considered advertising under the rules regulating the legal profession. McDermott Will & Emery conducts its practice through separate legal entities in each of the countries where it has offices.
