About Our Practice

Foreign companies coming to the United States routinely require assistance in many legal areas, and Hall Booth Smith’s International Practice Group offers experienced counsel for global corporations of all sizes, regardless of corporate headquarter location. This is true for companies wishing to have their own legal presence in the U.S. as well as foreign companies engaging in business and trade with partners outside of the U.S. We are also able to assist clients based in the United States in legal matters involving the laws of foreign countries, either through our own attorneys who include foreign nationals, or with the help of colleagues in other countries with whom we network.

The attorneys in our International Practice Group have been working with international clients and U.S. based companies for many years. Our work with international clients includes structuring legal entities for start-up operations as well as routinely advising companies with established operations in the United States, as we do for any other domestic client. We focus on the needs of our clients throughout the Southeastern region, yet we serve clients throughout the United States and internationally, including Germany, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the country of Georgia.

Our broad network includes contacts with national and international lawyers and other professionals to best serve our clients’ unique needs. Our attorneys work closely with a number of bi-national and local chambers of industry and commerce allowing us to stay on top of the pulse of what is happening within the international and local business community.

Our attorneys are involved in various organizations including:

• German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeastern U.S.
• Netherlands-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeastern United States
• Honorary Consul for the country of Georgia
• Honorary Consul General and Foreign Economic Counselor for Hungary
• World Trade Center Atlanta
• Georgia Economic Developers Association

Many international companies are leveraging the global economy to expand their overseas presence, grow U.S. based facilities and subsidiaries, and capitalize on trade opportunities.  Likewise, many companies based in Georgia and other states are looking abroad for expansion and investment.

The focus of the attorneys and staff of our International Practice Group is in the following areas:

• Corporate
  • Structuring and implementing U.S. operations
  • M&A and other corporate transactions
• Immigration
  • Non-immigrant and immigrant visas
  • Naturalization
• Intellectual Property
• Litigation and Arbitration
• Products Liability
• Employment and Operational Issues
• Contracts
• Construction and Transportation
• Estate matters involving foreign individuals or another country
• Dual nationality questions.

While the major focus of our International Practice Group is on inbound investments into the U.S., we also assist clients in the U.S. with legal matters concerning other countries. Assistance in corporate transactions or estate matters would be examples.

Moreover, our attorneys have extensive experience working with brokers, underwriters and claim professionals in the international insurance market, particularly with Lloyds of London. Our firm has handled many matters on behalf of various Syndicates at Lloyds, and our attorney’s understand how this unique market works. We utilize these long-standing relationships to assist foreign insurers to managing their domestic litigation, as well as assisting domestic clients to gain access to the Lloyds market.

With professional integrity and skill, HBS has successfully served many foreign entities doing business in the United States in matters including the following:

• Representing German and other foreign clients in setting up their U.S. operations
• Structuring U. S. subsidiaries of foreign parent business entities
• Representing foreign clients on an on-going basis with respect to their U.S. operations, including general corporate matters, immigration, employment and litigation
• Assisting foreign-owned companies in their acquisition of companies based in the United States
• Negotiating tax incentives from state and local governments
• Representation in court or other forums or before government agencies.