We have extensive experience conducting due diligence and fact-finding throughout the United States and overseas.  But unlike in the U.S., conducting due diligence overseas takes specialized expertise and experience.  Public documents are often not as accessible as they are in the U.S., making even regulatory or criminal violations difficult to discover.  In addition, overseas investments usually require a broader range of information.  This means not only background checks and on-site verification of deal representations, but also analyses of political, regulatory, cultural and competitive risks.  In short, international deal due diligence demands a range of services as well as special regional and country-specific knowledge, skills, and resources.

 

We can assist clients throughout a foreign investment cycle—from investment due diligence to dispute resolution due diligence.

 

Investment Due Diligence

 

We can help evaluate a potential foreign investment by providing information on:

 

• the backgrounds, reputations, and integrity of the principals, as well as whether these individuals have the capacities and connections they represent

 

• credit profiles of companies and individuals

 

• civil litigation involving the company, including its principals and affiliates, and the substance of that litigation

 

• regulatory investigations and violations involving the company

 

• criminal matters involving the company or its principals

 

• theft of intellectual property or counterfeiting

 

• links to organized crime

 

• sources of start-up or investment seed capital

 

• anti-money laundering policies, procedures and practices and compliance history

 

• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues as well as involvement with terrorist organizations or financing

 

Dispute Resolution Due Diligence

 

• political risks, including the risk of confiscation or expropriation; civil strife; and political instability

 

• illegal or unethical labor practices

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• environmental problems

 

• human rights violations or concerns

 

• political profiles, potentially including analyses of regional dynamics and the political, cultural, and ethnic environments of the host country

  

• regulatory and legal risk analyses

 

• market analysis of sector or specific investment

 

• competitive analysis of both overt and hidden competitors

 

• on-site investigation, which may involve placing an individual or team of experts in country to validate representations and gather additional information

 

• ongoing monitoring of investments and / or host country conditions to maximize returns and preempt or minimize problems

 

• dispute resolution analysis, which involves developing the information and contacts necessary to craft a strategy to resolve problems quickly and efficiently by:​​
   

  • identifying key government, opposition party, and even tribal players
     

  • reaching out to local stakeholders and other powerbrokers
     

  • understanding competing political and commercial agendas
     

  • developing legal, diplomatic, and public relations points of leverage
     

  • cultivating multilateral assistance.

 

• monitoring for intellectual property theft