A global law firm
Texas is a crossroads of the global economy. Cox Smith is well positioned to help clients take advantage of global business opportunities. No matter what their legal needs, we can provide our clients with representation in jurisdictions around the world including working with an established network of local counsel. Central to this capability is our firm’s membership in TAGLaw, the third largest legal network in the world with 147 law firm members and Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW), a group of more than 70 independent law firms located in over 80 major commercial centers throughout the world.

Equally important is the international perspective and experience of our firm’s own lawyers. We have a full understanding of language and culture that is essential to making business and legal relationships work. Our firm does inbound and outbound business transactions with Mexico, Canada and other countries in North and South America. We are equally at home dealing with clients in Asia and the European community. Although we have internal capabilities that relate to many aspects of international business (from dispute resolution and enforcement of judgments, to energy and real estate transactions), our particular strengths involve counseling on intellectual property, corporate transactional and tax issues.

Intellectual property
Cox Smith has exceptional strengths of international trademark and patent management. More than one-third of the 20,000 plus marks and portfolios that we oversee are registered internationally. Our IP lawyers work with a strong network of local counsel firms in more than 80 countries to develop trademark filing strategies. We help leading telecom, pharmaceutical, medical device, beverage, marketing service and many more clients decide when it is in their business interest to prosecute trademarks, service marks and trade dress in other countries, then work with them to:

• Determine the countries in which it is most advantageous to file
• Decide the country filing sequence, for maximum infringement protection
• Register the marks with the appropriate filing agencies, using the help of local counsel
• Negotiate and draft licensing and other marketing agreements as necessary.

Local counsel
The foundation of our international IP capabilities is the network of strong relationships that we have built up with local counsel throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. We have worked with many of these affiliates for years, undertaking a regular schedule of direct personal visits with them. And our ongoing involvement in the International Trademark Association (INTA) enables us to maintain personal contact at the organization’s annual conferences.

Anti-piracy
No matter where in the world we register our clients’ marks and patents, we can defend them through effective anti-piracy strategies. Our lawyers, working with local counsel, have supervised and coordinated international anti-piracy actions in Europe, South America and the Far East. We emphasize a well planned trademark and patent filing strategy as the key to effective IP protection, but also can combat piracy through litigation under the Federal Trademark Anti-Counterfeiting Act.

Corporate and transactional
Given the borderless nature of global business today, Cox Smith does not draw a sharp distinction between domestic and international M&A. Cox Smith is experienced in representing companies and individuals from Mexico and Latin America in their U.S. business and investments. Our lawyers apply in-depth knowledge of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to help clients plan cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures and offshore corporate structures involving U.S. and Mexican clients, helping to see that all tax and intellectual property issues are covered. A typical example is our representation of a U.S. subsidiary of an international hospitality company in its franchising of restaurants in Mexico.

Our global focus also extends to clients throughout the world from Israel, the European community and Asia. No matter what the transaction or its geographical focus, we are fully prepared to work with local counsel on all due diligence aspects of the deal – including such issues as multilateral compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Mergers & acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions are the centerpiece of our international corporate practice, as our lawyers have helped domestic and foreign clients purchase and sell dozens of companies all over the world. Although we represent multi-billion-dollar public conglomerates and other large corporations with global interests, our particular emphasis in M&A deals is middle market transactions valued at up to $400 million. Our representation has a strong emphasis on offshore-based companies that make inbound acquisitions in the U.S. For example, we regularly work with an internal security and office furnishings company based in the United Kingdom, advising them on their substantial North American acquisitions and divestitures.

Finance
When public or private companies of all sizes look for new financing sources, we help them get the global capital market access they need. Our lawyers have handled hundreds of millions of dollars in cross-border debt and equity financing and are typically involved in every phase of capital-raising transactions, from identifying the best capital sources to structuring the deal.

We take a “blended” approach to cross-border financing, often raising capital in the same transaction from both domestic and international offerings (for example, on the London Stock Exchange) and from lenders and investors in multiple countries, including sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia.

Taxation
Reflecting the pivotal Texas role in the cross-border economy, we advise many companies headquartered in Mexico and other countries on the form and structure their U.S. operations should take for effective tax treatment. That includes investment incentives, royalties, dividends and interest generated by the operations, as well as international tax treaty provisions. In addition to the tax aspects of ongoing operations, we advise domestic and foreign companies on the tax implications of cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.

Cox Smith represents companies and individuals from Mexico in the income and estate tax implications of their U.S. business and investments. Much of our work involves educating clients to the complexities of the U.S. Tax Code and the enforcement activities of the Internal Revenue Service. When this inbound tax work involves the purchase of U.S. business operations by Mexican nationals, we use our knowledge of U.S. and Mexican tax law to address relevant compliance matters. Because Mexico is the only Latin American country having a tax treaty with the U.S., we understand the multilateral tax implications of deals involving both countries.

Immigration and International Trade
We have on-the-ground experience in consular processing, cross-border, and admissions related issues. We assist corporate and individual clients all over the U.S. and from around the world with U.S. immigration and nationality law, providing services ranging from securing employment-based temporary and permanent visas, to related tax and import/export controls compliance.

Read more about our Immigration and International Trade practice.