Contacts
What this office does
Role of the office. Work through the New York office most often involves international arbitration and debt recovery from American counterparties, as well as compliance for transactions with dollar settlements.
How the work is organised. The office is a point of local presence, not a separate practice. Every matter is led by a partner from the head team, who is personally responsible for the result and coordinates the work across all the jurisdictions involved.
A similar case: recovery from a foreign counterparty.
How exactly we help here
Our other offices
OFAC sanctions compliance for transactions with a US element
Who must comply with US sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury requires compliance with sanctions from all “US persons”: citizens, residents, companies organised in the US and anyone physically present in the country, regardless of where the transaction itself is concluded.
The 50% rule. A company is automatically treated as blocked if it is owned, directly or indirectly and in aggregate, 50% or more by one or more persons on the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list, even if the company itself is not separately listed. Checking a counterparty’s ownership structure against this rule is a mandatory step before any transaction with a US element.
Dollar payments pass through the US even without an American party. A dollar payment is, as a rule, cleared at some stage through a correspondent bank in the US, which subjects the payment to OFAC compliance screening wherever the payer and payee are located. This applies even to transactions with no other connection to the US.
Strict liability. OFAC’s key sanctions programmes apply regardless of any intent to breach the restrictions. Exceptions are made through general licences for whole categories of operations or specific licences for a particular transaction, and both options must be checked before the payment, not after.
How to register a company in the US: a Delaware LLC or a New York structure
The timeframes below are indicative. They depend on the state, on whether the beneficial owner has an SSN or ITIN, and on the bank that ultimately opens the account, and we agree the exact schedule at the consultation.
Choosing the state and the legal form
Delaware is more often chosen as a holding jurisdiction: state law (the Delaware General Corporation Law) and the specialist court for corporate disputes (the Court of Chancery) give predictability even where no business is conducted in the state itself. A New York structure is needed if the business is physically present and operating in New York. Timeframe: 1-3 days.
Filing the documents with the state registrar
A Certificate of Formation (for an LLC) or a Certificate of Incorporation is filed with the Secretary of State of the chosen state. A non-resident must appoint a registered agent, a person with a physical address in that state to receive official correspondence. Timeframe: 3-7 days.
Obtaining the federal EIN
Where the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN, the EIN application on Form SS-4 is submitted to the IRS by fax or post, not online or by telephone, unlike applicants with an SSN, who receive the number the same day. Timeframe: 4-6 weeks.
The publication requirement for New York LLCs
Within 120 days of registration, a New York LLC must publish a notice of formation in two newspapers designated by the county clerk for six consecutive weeks, and then file a Certificate of Publication. Delaware has no such requirement, which is often an argument for choosing Delaware for structures with no physical activity in New York. Timeframe: up to 120 days.
US tax residence of an individual: the presence test and FATCA
These are general thresholds for planning purposes, not personal tax advice. We confirm how they apply to a specific situation at the consultation.
Enforcing foreign decisions in US courts: the New York Convention
The 1958 New York Convention. The US is a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention), implemented in Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act. This allows a foreign arbitral award to be enforced through a US federal court without a review of the merits of the dispute.
Foreign court judgments are recognised at state level. Unlike arbitral awards, the enforcement of judgments of foreign state courts in the US is governed by state law. New York applies the Uniform Foreign Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (Article 53 of the CPLR), which recognises foreign money judgments provided the defendant was properly notified and the judgment does not contradict US public policy.
The grounds for refusal are limited. Article V of the New York Convention contains an exhaustive list of grounds for refusing to enforce an arbitral award: improper notice to a party, arbitrators exceeding their jurisdiction, conflict with the public policy of the country of enforcement and a number of procedural violations. American courts traditionally construe these grounds narrowly, in favour of enforcing the award.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an American attorney to recover a debt in the US?+
For representation in court in the US, yes. A local attorney is required by procedural rules. We coordinate this work while remaining the client’s main contact.
How strict is compliance on dollar settlements?+
Very strict. Any transaction with dollar settlements passes through correspondent banks in the US, which apply their own compliance requirements wherever the parties to the transaction are located.
Do you handle cases in American international arbitration?+
Yes. In addition to court proceedings, the New York office supports cases before arbitral institutions with a US element.