This is the first part in a series examining Dickinson Wright’s cross-border practices.
As the world becomes more integrated, lawyers are called on to perform international work on behalf of their clients. One way to address these needs is to open an office in the country where your clients are already doing business. To better serve our clients’ growing international needs, Dickinson Wright combined with Toronto-based Aylesworth LLC last year to create Dickinson Wright LLP. Since then, our Corporate practice has seen an increase in the number of cases that deal with cross-border issues.
“The benefit of the Toronto office is that it helps establish Detroit as a gateway for our clients into the United States,” says Attorney Mark High, a member in Dickinson Wright’s Detroit office. “We are offering our clients access to attorneys in the U.S. at Midwest rates instead of the higher rates they would pay with a firm based in New York.”
Why, might you ask, is the reason for the increase in cross-border corporate transactions? The simple answer: Canadian growth. According to the International Monetary Fund, Canada will grow at an expected rate of 2.1% and 2.2% for 2012 and 2013, respectively. That is the highest among the G7 countries. Looking at it from the other direction, the vast U.S. market can open a world of possibilities to successful Canadian companies.
What do we consider cross-border corporate transactions? Examples include a Canadian corporation wanting to invest in the U.S. real estate market. Our team helped the corporation form a U.S. entity. The work also goes the other way, with a California company in a regulated industry asking Dickinson Wright for assistance in setting up a Canadian operating entity.
If you are considering a move cross-border and need legal assistance, it’s important to keep the different regulations and cultures of both countries in mind, says Mark. In Canada, for example, it’s important to understand the differences in the banking system and taxation, as well as differences in their approaches to business, with Canada having a more European-based culture than the United States.
Mark has directly experienced an increase in cross-border transactions since Dickinson Wright LLP opened. Before the two combined, he use to receive Canadian referrals based on contacts he made by attending networking events and seminars. Now with the Toronto office, he has a direct pipeline for cross-border work. “I’ve seen a bigger volume of cross-border work in one year with the addition of our Toronto office than in the three previous years when I relied on my network in Canada,” he said.
Dickinson Wright’s Corporate attorneys work together with clients to address their corporate needs from corporate finance to emerging businesses. To learn more about Dickinson Wright’s corporate practice, visit us at http://www.dickinson-wright.com/Corporate-Services.
