Publications, Presentations & Events Archive
Archive
- August 29, 2024FIRE Summer School: The Next Generation of Asset Recovery Practitioners
Adam Kaufmann will be speaking at a panel on private prosecutions after the Post Office Horizon scandal at the FIRE "Summer School" asset recovery event in Cambridge.
Adam will discuss victims' remedies in the US: 28 U.S.C. § 1782, TRO’s, and whistleblower actions.
ThoughtLeaders4FIREDowning College, Cambridge, UK - June 27, 2024Fraud Litigation, Contentious Insolvency & Enforcement
In this panel at the 2024 Asset Recovery Americas Conference, partner Chiara Spector-Naranjo and fellow panelists will discuss what avenues are available to victims or insolvency practitioners where a defendant has no assets, be it an offshore shell company that has been asset stripped, or a fraudster whose assets have already been seized or confiscated.
Asset Recovery AmericasWashington, DC - June 12, 2024
LBKM is proud to sponsor this year's CenterForce Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, where Managing Partner Aisha Bembry will be a panelist at a session titled "Shattering Glass Ceilings: The Unwritten Playbook for Career Success Beyond Hard Work."
CenterForceWashington, DC - May 29, 2024
The U.S. lags other countries in crypto adoption, and unfavorable policy is only one reason. Another is that the problems crypto addresses are more prevalent in other countries. Join LBKM's Carol Van Cleef and fellow panelists at this open forum to share your experience and ideas about what moves the needle on crypto adoption and usage around the world.
CoinDesk's ConsensusAustin, TX - May 9, 202426th Annual Transnational Crime Conference
As part of the IBA's 26th Annual Transnational Crime Conference in Milan, Cristián Francos co-moderates a panel dissecting the intricate landscape of subsidies fraud in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
International Bar AssociationMilan - February 14, 2024
Carol Van Cleef authored a chapter in this treatise in which industry leaders provide insightful analysis on how emerging advances in Web3, Blockchain, and Metaverse law interact within new and existing legal frameworks. Formerly published as A Practical Guide to Smart Contracts and Blockchain Law.
LexisNexis Canada - January 31, 2024IBA Arbitration and Criminal Law Conference
Cristian Francos will moderate a panel at the inaugural IBA Arbitration and Criminal Law Conference.
International Bar AssociationSão Paulo, Brazil - January 23, 2024C5 Group, American Conference InstituteMiami
- November 15, 2023
Tim Taylor K.C. is the first overseas lawyer to be featured in the Beverly Hills Bar Association's War Stories series. He will explain how the principles used in commercial mediation can also be used in the peace process, based on his experience with drafting a framework peace agreement for Darfur and working on the Peace Project in Yemen.
Beverly Hills Bar AssociationZoom - November 1, 2023IBA Annual Conference 2023
Cristián Francos moderated a panel exploring the growing trend to arbitrate disputes emerging from compliance investigations related to potential criminal conduct and will discuss the varying ways national courts review and accept any arbitral decisions in this area.
International Bar AssociationParis - May 18, 2023London International Disputes Week
Partner Tara Plochocki will be speaking on "The evolving impact of sanctions on commercial contracts" as part of London International Disputes Week.
Withers LLP, 20 Old Bailey, London - May 4, 202325th Annual Transnational Crime Conference
Partner Cristián Francos will co-chair a session on trends in global sanctions enforcement at the International Bar Association's 25th Annual Transnational Crime Conference.
International Bar AssociationBoston, MA - April 13, 2023
Cristián Francos discussed the operation of Money Service Businesses without a license, US government enforcement and prosecution, and the impact for local financial actors.
BragardLe Biblo, Montevideo, Uruguay - March 13, 2023Thought Leaders 4 FIREGrand Cayman
- December 12, 2022ICSIDWashington, DC
- November 3, 2022
Cristián Francos is Senior Vice Chair of the IBA’s Business Crime Committee and will be co-chairing “The transfer of criminal liability in M&A” session on November 3rd.
International Bar AssociationMiami - June 22, 2022
Adam Kaufmann served as a panelist for this CLE on federal and local enforcement trends in the construction industry.
New York City Bar Association - May 2022
Adam Kaufmann co-chaired the panel "Covid-19 fraud: law enforcement and where we are now."
International Bar AssociationLondon, UK - October 20, 2021Asadullah Haroon Gul: Detained in Guantánamo for 14 years without charge or trial
On October 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Guantánamo detainee Asadullah Haroon Gul’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, ruling that his detention is unlawful. The decision marks the first time a Guantánamo Bay detainee has won a habeas corpus petition in the last ten years.
- October 2021
U.S. government surveillance has repeatedly been in the news, highlighting the larger U.S. surveillance system of foreigners and the incidental gathering of Americans’ communications. The U.S. government’s surveillance capabilities and long-standing policies have sparked concern and reaction from the European Union (“EU”), and now, in response to a European court ruling, European partners are reaching out to their U.S. counterparts asking to amend existing contracts to strengthen or install protections concerning European data. How U.S. entities respond to such requests can determine whether their commercial relationships continue uninterrupted and potentially give them a leg up against the competition.
- September 30, 2021
A. Katherine Toomey gave a presentation on U.S. "sunshine laws" at the International Business Law Consortium Annual General Meeting, held September 30–October 1, 2021.
- July 2021
- July 2, 2021JDSupra
- June 2021
One source commented, “I can’t think of an improvement to its practice. We’ve worked with several leading international law firms and in our experience when it comes to complex, high-stakes issues Lewis Baach provides unmatched value.”
- May 20, 2021
Elizabeth Vélez successfully petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for lawful permanent residence (commonly known as a green card) on behalf of an undocumented client who was the victim of domestic violence.
Chambers and Partners has again recognized Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss in the area of insurance, including both the firm's insurance practice and Martin Baach in its District of Columbia rankings for 2021.
- April 6, 2021
What are the pitfalls and best practices in vetting #MeToo accusations; how to preserve privacy and work with NDAs; defending libel claims when the alleged abuser or victim claims the other is a liar; are the standards the same for both alleged abusers and victims?; for the media that reports on it?
The Media Law Resource Center - March 26, 2021
The United States needs to consider carefully whether its treaty advantages and broad jurisdictional statutes should be aggressively used to bring foreign defendants to the United States when the American interest is limited and when other countries may have a greater interest in applying their own statutes, and their own penalty structures.
New York Law Journal - March 26, 2021JDSupra
- March 16, 2021
As the suicide of U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach John Geddert, and the sexual abuse suit against previous coach Don Peters, reverberate across the globe, it will be all too easy for governing bodies to again dismiss the abuse allegations as isolated incidents.
ESPN - March 8, 2021
LBKM wins summary judgment for pro bono client sued for defamation after sharing letter detailing sexual harassment.
- February 17, 2021
In a decision issued on Feb. 5, the U.K. Supreme Court quashed a notice pursuant to Section 2(3) of the 1987 Criminal Justice Act, that sought to require a U.S. corporation, KBR Inc., to produce documents located in the U.S. The decision has important consequences for cross-border discovery and investigations, as the U.S. and the U.K. appear to be taking divergent approaches.
Law360 - January 29, 2021
The U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia recently denied a petition to recognize and enforce an international arbitration award against a government-owned airline on jurisdictional grounds. The decision in UAB Skyroad Leasing Inc. v. OJSC Tajik Air, 20-cv-0763 (D.D.C. Jan. 26, 2021) illustrates the hurdles to enforcing an arbitral award against a foreign state-owned enterprise, even when that enterprise is engaged in pure commercial activities and controlled by the state.
- January 12, 2021
The Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation has nothing to do with federal law, public acts, or violations involving the political or electoral process. Moreover, as possible charges brought by a sovereign state, they cannot be pardoned by an outgoing President.
New York Law Journal - December 14, 2020Significant Expansion of Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Requirements in the United States
The U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives and passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, a defense spending bill, which included the Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”). That Act sets forth an expansion for the disclosure requirements for certain US and non-US companies doing business in the United States.
- December 11, 2020
In the dying days of his administration, President Trump has moved to smash the civil service. Through Executive Order 13957 (“EO 13957” or the “EO”), the President aims to carve out an entire new class of civil servants, sheering them from long-standing federal protections designed to create a professional, apolitical federal workforce. Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss is investigating the scope of the Executive Order and possible remedies available to affected civil servants.
- October 14, 2020
This year has seen a push for reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act from both sides of the aisle. While the parties’ positions on what and how regulation should change differ greatly, they agree that Section 230 is overly broad and has allowed platform providers to amass an undesirable amount of control over the content available on the internet.
- September 4, 2020
Eric Lewis is interviewed extensively in The Andorra Hustle, a documentary by Eric Merola about FinCEN's use of the USA PATRIOT Act to shut down Banca Privada d'Andorra.
- August 13, 2020A discussion of 'Liu v. SEC,' where the Supreme Court clarified the scope of the disgorgement remedy, and limited the SEC's discretion in making restitution to victims of securities fraud.New York Law Journal
- July 31, 2020Practical guidance for individuals and companies to consider if served with a federal grand jury subpoena.New York Law Journal
- July 13, 2020
The Second Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) cannot be used to support petitions for discovery for use in private foreign commercial arbitrations, settling an issue that has lingered unresolved in the circuit since 2004. The new decision, In re Guo, puts the Second Circuit squarely at odds with recent decisions issued by other circuit courts, raising the possibility that the Supreme Court will take up the issue next session to resolve the split. While Guo does not impact the ability of parties to foreign public arbitrations and litigations to take § 1782(a) discovery, for now at least, parties to private foreign arbitrations may have to look to more favorable circuits outside New York for relief.
- June 25, 2020
A. Katherine Toomey moderated the International Business Law Consortium event IBLC 2020: Trends in Bankruptcy and Insolvency and gave a presentation on Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
International Business Law Consortium - June 18, 2020Insights from International and Local PractitionersCIArbyoutube.com/ciarb-brazil
- May 22, 2020
The health effects of Covid-19 have created personal tragedies that seemed unimaginable a few short months ago. Despite the efforts of governments, the virus has shown that the world is inextricably interconnected. How we respond will dictate whether that interconnectedness is a positive or negative force as we try to recover from the economic crisis that has arisen in the wake of the pandemic. In Latin America, individuals and companies have either begun to see, or fear, the return of currency controls, defaults and chaos as the governments of the region confront historic challenges. Many have once again sought refuge in the perceived relative safety of the U.S. financial system. However, investors may find that their sudden search for a safe haven may bring on a series of unanticipated problems.
- May 20, 2020Law360
- May 11, 2020
There is a popular misconception that asset forfeiture is limited to the luxury cars, private jets and speedboats of drug dealers, but many well-meaning businesses and individuals are finding themselves with their assets seized under statutes that provide U.S. authorities extremely broad powers. And these seizures often occur without any warning to, or even accusation against, the owner of the assets. Once seized it can take years to obtain recovery of perfectly legal assets. In these uncertain times, as many well-meaning people seek the relative safety of the U.S. banking system, individuals and companies in many countries may innocently use money-transfer systems that exponentially increase the risk of having their assets seized. Why does this happen and how can it be avoided?
- April 24, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has not only caused untold misery, it has forced the virtual shutdown of the global economy. Everyone hopes that this crisis will pass, but events have shown there is a false choice between mitigation and resumption of economic activity. Mitigation, with testing and social distancing, must be done to avoid wave after wave of disease, which will only lead to rolling cessations of economic activity. Given the economic dislocation occasioned by this global crisis and that it is likely to continue for at least a few more months, we can anticipate that many businesses will fail, and others will require time and help to restore financial health and operations. There is little doubt that innumerable global businesses will need the protection of an organized and coordinated insolvency and reorganization process as soon as this crisis is over. The time for them to begin planning is now.
- April 20, 2020
In recent weeks, the world has been engulfed by the spread of COVID-19 as governments scramble to protect their citizens and avoid the collapse of public health systems and long-term damage to their economies. The wide-ranging efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 has created a tidal wave of ramifications for an international business community that is today more interconnected than ever, and led to high levels of uncertainty surrounding current and future contractual obligations. At a time when government policies fluctuate daily and courts and arbitration centers are becoming increasingly inaccessible to resolve active disputes, it is difficult for a party to seek or obtain interim measures or relief. From country to country and company to company, the responses have not been uniform: some commercial parties have continued to perform their obligations, while others have argued for wholesale abdication of their responsibilities, and still others are somewhere in between. Certain trends of government action and commercial response are emerging worldwide, no less so in the hyper-connected global businesses that are found in the Middle East.
- April 15, 2020
Having practiced law in the United States for more than twenty years, it is the American jury system that seems to be the greatest source of confusion, mystery and sometimes fear for clients. Many of them have seen the classic jury room movie Twelve Angry Men or, more recently, Runaway Jury, and fear that an unreasonable jury will bankrupt their companies or convict them of crimes they did not commit. For all of the questions about juries I have answered over the years, I now have a new experience on which to draw – two months ago I was a juror on a federal criminal jury trial. I was surprised by what I learned inside the jury box and inside the jury room and it changed some of my own assumptions about juries.
- April 14, 2020
Creating a potential Catch-22 for the adult survivors given the opportunity to bring claims during the one year look-back period, the COVID-19 crisis has closed state courts to any new civil case filings and effectively stopped any of these cases from proceeding.
New York Law Journal