Foley Hoag LLP

When our client sought to restructure its worldwide cellular telephone holdings, we devised a cutting-edge tax structure. The structure included a cross-border triangular merger of a publicly traded U.S. cellular telephone company and a European affiliate that transferred direct ownership of the European affiliate's stock from the U.S. company to the latter's stockholders. This unlocked substantial shareholder value without imposing U.S. tax.

Our Malaysian corporate clients include Petronas, the national oil company, which we advise on international legal matters; Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, a major conglomerate that asked for our help in international business transactions; and Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the national power company, which we advise on international corporate matters

Provided Talisman Energy with globalization strategies and counsel regarding corporate social responsibility related to investments and operations in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East

When the African Development Bank (ADB), based in Cote d'Ivoire, sought legal advice about its participation in a new venture capital fund for private investments in Africa, it retained Foley Hoag to structure and negotiate the transaction. The ADB also asked us to advise its board on privatization and law reform in Africa.

Assisted the Government of Kenya in connection with matters relating to elections, international assistance, counter-terrorism activities, and other issues of interest to the U.S. Government

An innovative Swedish software company seeking equity investments from U.S. venture capital funds was challenged because many funds have charters prohibiting investment in non-U.S. companies. We solved the problem by helping our client create a corporate headquarters in the United States and convert its Swedish operation into a research, development and intellectual property subsidiary of the U.S. parent. This tax-free reorganization enabled the new U.S. parent company to consummate a significant private placement with U.S. venture capital funds.

A large U.S. bank asked us to help it capitalize on the wealth of software talent in India by creating an Indian company to develop financial services software. We negotiated a joint-venture agreement for the bank with a major U.S. computer manufacturer and local Indian partners. The joint venture financed the new software company with a $100 million investment.

When the Government of Guyana sought to privatize state-owned enterprises, Foley Hoag was retained to provide strategic and legal advice. We played an integral role in preparing the offering memoranda and RFPs, supervising the competitive bidding process, and negotiating and drafting the final agreements. We also drafted new legislation to facilitate private investment in Guyana, including modern laws to regulate the energy, securities, insurance and electric power industries.

Researched and analyzed, on behalf of The World Bank Group, the corporate social responsibility codes of conduct of over 100 different companies in five different industry sectors operating in Vietnam, El Salvador, the Philippines, and Angola

On behalf of Philippine coconut oil exporters, our international team lobbied successfully to defeat measures in the U.S. Congress and the Food and Drug administration that would have restricted our clients' access to the U.S. market. Our team's lobbying for the governments of Uganda, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Guyana, among others, helped increase U.S. economic and security assistance by many millions of dollars.

During Liberia’s civil war, the interim government was cut off from its main source of foreign exchange, what was its maritime registration and tax revenue collected in New York banks. Various creditors had attached these accounts, denying Liberia access to the funds. As counsel to the government, our lawyers pursued an aggressive litigation strategy in several separate lawsuits in U.S. courts that defeated the creditors' claims, nullified the attachments, and obtained the funds for the government.

Appointed by the Organization of American States to mediate a long-standing territorial dispute between Guatemala and Belize. As a result, we produced an historic settlement that both parties agreed to submit to popular referendum.

Our lawyers were counsel for Nicaragua in its historic legal triumph over the United States at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The court issued a landmark ruling that U.S. mining of Nicaragua’s ports and support for rebels seeking to overthrow the Nicaraguan Government violated international law. The United States was ordered to cease its aggression against Nicaragua. Uganda also chose us to represent it before the court, in a case filed against it by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Assisted the World Bank in advising El Salvador and other Central American governments regarding the establishment of responsible corporate practices regarding human rights, labor rights and the environment. Our analysis of over forty codes of conduct developed by multinational corporations, unions, multi-stakeholder groups and NGOs now guides regional practices in the light manufacturing, agro-business and tourism sectors.

Represented the Government of Guyana in an expedited arbitration relating to an investment dispute in connection with the privatization of the country’s electricity sector

One of our corporate telecommunications clients was locked in a dispute with the Government of Costa Rica’s telecommunications ministry over the sale and installation of a cellular phone system. Commercial relations were cut off, and each side claimed the other owed it millions of dollars. We negotiated a settlement that netted more than $2 million for our client, and enabled it to win profitable new contracts.

Asked to structure and manage a transaction in Chile involving parties in five different countries, we created a multinational joint venture. The joint venture made strategic investments worth more than $125 million in Chilean forestry and paper companies by pension funds and other institutional investors.

Our clients also look to us to help them take advantage of opportunities created by the North American Free Trade Agreement. In one case, we assisted a textile manufacturer by analyzing its overall tariff, procurement and manufacturing costs. We advised it where to purchase raw materials and semi-processed goods, and where to process those materials into finished products.

When the Government of Nicaragua sought to end a destructive civil war, it asked a member of our international team to help it negotiate with rebel forces. Our efforts contributed to an historic cease-fire agreement that led to rebel disarmament and Nicaragua’s first democratic elections. Our lobbying in Washington, D.C., helped the new government secure more than $200,000,000 in U.S. economic aid.

Sued in a U.S. court by a U.S. aviation company alleging wrongful seizure of its aircraft, the Nigerian Airports Authority, an agency of the Government of Nigeria, retained our attorneys as defense counsel. Based on our familiarity with the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, we argued successfully that U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction over the lawsuit, which was dismissed by the trial court. The Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the judgment.