International

To some firms, having an “international practice” is a matter of having law offices in many cities of the world.  To us, having an “international practice” means understanding how the law differs from country to country, appreciating the structure and dynamics of different legal systems and the practical consequences of international variations for our clients, and understanding the perspectives and thought processes of clients, co-counsel, and even adversaries who come from different cultures and life experiences. 

Situated in the heart of New York City, Phillips Nizer provides focused and efficient legal counsel and services to citizens of every continent and major culture of the world. We help clients accomplish business and personal objectives that transcend national borders by guiding them through the complex realm of U.S. common, statutory and treaty law, the U.S. regulatory system and judicial processes, and the “American mindset.” Founded over 80 years ago by pre-eminent lawyers, including the world-renowned Louis Nizer, our firm has represented clients in international commercial deals, corporate transactions, property dispositions, licensing registrations, fiduciary relationships, tax challenges, regulatory compliance events, and litigation and arbitration.

Our international services include:

Litigation

Litigation is one of our largest and best-known practice areas. We appear in U.S. state and federal courts and before administrative tribunals, at the trial and appellate levels, in New York and in other states. We also have extensive experience in all types of international and domestic arbitration proceedings and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Our Litigation professionals have handled a variety of matters outside the U.S. for U.S.-based clients, and within in the U.S. for international clients. We frequently advise clients in pre-litigation disputes and settlement negotiations, and we aim to minimize risks, mitigate litigation expenses, and provide certainty in the outcomes of disputes on behalf of our clients.

Intellectual Property

Our Intellectual Property professionals represent clients in a wide range of matters, including corporate and business transactions, tax planning, trademark and copyright registration and enforcement, counterfeiting and unfair competition. We are particularly active in trademark and intellectual property licensing ventures, and we advise foreign and domestic companies, both as licensors and licensees, in the United States and throughout the world.  

We have developed and implemented single product manufacturing and wholesale licenses across product categories, a number of which have involved hundreds of millions of dollars of business. We also negotiate brand development licenses covering regions such as Asia and the Middle East, and in individual countries such as Japan, Korea, Australia, South Africa, Canada and Mexico, and we have worked on licenses for retail boutiques located on the most fashionable shopping streets throughout the world.

Our clients include multinational corporations, middle-market companies, start-up ventures, small businesses, non-profits and individuals, and we represent clients across various industries, including the arts, entertainment, and technology. We represent numerous fashion industry clients, including many of the world’s largest and most prestigious fashion houses and most prominent fashion designers. 

Securities

Our Securities professionals have helped many new and expanding foreign and domestic businesses raise outside capital, often from investment banks, venture capitalists, or public offerings. We help our clients understand the intricacies of such funding deals, and the U.S. federal and state securities laws that govern our clients and their fundraising transactions. Our Securities group members have years of experience in private and public securities offerings, stock-based mergers and acquisitions, financings of emerging-growth companies and other corporate finance transactions, and securities law compliance counseling for private and public companies, broker/dealers and investment advisors. We also provide advice and assistance relating to corporate governance practices; periodic reporting (in compliance with SEC, NYSE, and NASDAQ requirements and other regulated disclosures); proxy solicitations, and broker-dealer and investment advisor regulatory matters.

Tax, Trusts & Estates and Immigration

Our Tax, Trusts & Estates and Immigration professionals are an efficient and closely interconnected team of practitioners.  We advise multinational families and non-U.S. persons regarding the acquisition and ownership of assets located inside and outside the United States, and we counsel our clients on the tax, succession law and asset protection consequences of such acquisitions and holdings. We also structure U.S. and foreign trusts to achieve maximum asset protection and effective succession and tax planning. In addition, we provide immigration and tax planning service for foreign individuals moving to the United States, whether they intend to stay for a short time or make the U.S. their permanent home.  Our international trust attorneys are recognized throughout the world and work in concert with experts in close to forty countries.

Technology

We counsel U.S. and international clients on information security, privacy, data protection and data breach notification issues. Our attorneys have written and lectured on cross-border discovery issues and the conflict between U.S. e-discovery rules on the one hand, and the EU data protection directive and national privacy laws of the EU states on the other hand. We are also knowledgeable about the issues surrounding EU and member state data protection laws, and the challenges EU member state businesses encounter in communicating and sharing information with U.S. partners, parent companies and subsidiaries (and vice versa).