quinn emanuel
quinn emanuel urquhart & sullivan, llp | business litigation report
INSIDE
Quinn Emanuel Recognized
for “Global Pro Bono Dispute
of the Year” by The American
Lawyer
Page 3
U.S. Claims Ability to
Prosecute Foreign Actors
Acting Abroad for Violating
U.S. Sanctions Laws
Page 4
Prominent Russian Counsel
Joins Moscow Ofce
Page 5
Practice Area Updates:
International Trade Update
Page 6
Patent Litigation Update
Page 6
Entertainment Litigation
Update
Page 7
Victory for FIFA in Class Action
and Other Victories
Page 10
Attorney Advertising
October 2016
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tokyo | london | mannheim | hamburg | munich | paris | moscow | hong kong | sydney | brussels | zurich | shanghai
(continued on page 2)
Structuring Foreign Investment to Ensure Treaty Protection
Although it is common practice for businesses to
structure their investments abroad through
jurisdictions that maximize tax and other
advantages—such as the Isle of Man or the British
Virgin Islands—investors less frequently plan to
ensure that their foreign investments are structured so
as to obtain protections from sovereign interference,
such as regulatory takings or taxation. Often
businesses are unaware that there is a network of
treaties that protect investors abroad against abusive
sovereign conduct. Taking advantage of that network
can require advance planning.
ese treaties include investment treaties between
two States (bilateral investment treaties, or BITs),
investment treaties between several States, which
are typically related to a specific subject matter such
as energy investments, or a specific region (multi-
lateral investment treaties, or MITs) and free trade
agreements (FTAs). BITs, MITs and FTAs typically
contain substantive protections that allow foreign
investors to bring claims against host States in
specialized fora. But to obtain those protections,
thought must be given to the holding structure for
foreign investments so as to take advantage of an
applicable and effective treaty.
Companies of all sizes and varieties that invest in
foreign States often encounter difficulties with the
foreign governments and their officials. Take, for
example, recent fees and taxes levelled by Hungary
on grocery stores that appear to have targeted major
foreign grocery chains. In another well known
example, international oil majors and mining
Quinn Emanuel Named a “Litigation Powerhouse” by
Law360
Quinn Emanuel has been named a “Litigation Powerhouse” and one of the top three
firms for litigation by Law360. e firm was recognized for its many recent high-stakes
victories, including its victories on behalf of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
(“FHFA”) in what has been described as a historic partnership between a government
regulator and a private law firm. Quinn Emanuel won an $806 million judgment
for FHFA in residential mortgage-backed securities litigation against Nomura. at
trial victory came after winning nearly $18 billion in settlements from 16 other major
investment banks that FHFA had sued on similar claims. e firm also won one of
the largest private antitrust settlements in history—$1.86 billion—on behalf of a
class accusing major banks of rigging the market for credit default swaps. According
to Law360, Quinn Emanuel is “the go-to shop for high-dollar, high-profile litigation
against Wall Street banks.” Q
Charles Verhoeven and Kevin Johnson Named “Top
Intellectual Property Attorneys” by the
Daily Journal
San Francisco partner Charles Verhoeven and Silicon Valley partner Kevin Johnson
were named to the Daily Journal’s annual list of “Top Intellectual Property Attorneys.”
Mr. Verhoeven was recognized for two outstanding patent victories on behalf of Google
against plaintiff SimpleAir, Inc.: first, a $300 million defense jury verdict, and second,
a complete Federal Circuit reversal of an $85 million verdict in a separate but related
matter. Mr. Johnson was selected for his work on behalf of Samsung in the Apple v.
Samsung smartphone wars. Both partners were also recognized as “Top IP Attorneys”
by the Daily Journal in 2015.
Q
