Doing business in the United States is very different than doing business in most other countries.  The United States is a very litigious society.  Litigation attorneys in the United States can and do accept contingent payment arrangements.  This means that a person who believes that he or she has been injured or wronged can find an attorney who will represent that person in exchange for a percentage of the amount recovered.  In essence, the litigation attorney becomes the partner of the suing person.  Many times, this results in litigation in the United States that would not take place in the home country since there the attorney representing the injured person must be paid.

I represent many non-United States companies that do business in the United States either directly or through a United States subsidiary.  I have represented or currently represent clients from: Austria, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa, for their United States operations.

It is very important to choose the proper structure for doing business in the United States for many reasons including, but not limited to, asset protection, liability limitation, and tax minimization.  By utilizing a United States limited liability type of entity rather than doing business directly in the United States through the non-United States entity, the assets of a non-United States business can be protected from a claim from a United States plaintiff.

To the extent that a tax treaty exists between the United States and the non-United States entity’s home country, it is important to consider the effect that the tax treaty will have on operations in the United States.

Please contact me if you are considering doing business in the United States so I can assist you to utilize the best business structure and prepare and/or negotiate any agreement you will need.