Insights | Kobre & Kim — Disputes and Investigations

Bad-faith opponents often use elaborate mechanisms to publicly discredit high-net-worth individuals.
Misinformation can spread across borders rapidly, resulting in reputational harm across borders and languages.
HNWIs in contentious situations should take a robust and active approach with a carefully calibrated mix of legal and communications interventions.

U.S. litigators will be familiar with the powers of U.S. courts to gather discovery, including through letters rogatory and Section 1782 applications.
Less well known are powerful non-U.S. discovery tools that can provide the ever-growing need for information from multiple jurisdictions.
One such example, the Norwich Pharmacal order, can offer litigants access to third-party information in key English common law jurisdictions around the world.

Several features make Delaware’s trust law attractive for debtors to hold assets in the jurisdiction.
This also means creditors often struggle when attempting to access the trusts to recover assets.
By deploying aggressive, multijurisdictional strategies, creditors may be able to crack even Delaware’s notoriously tough trusts.

Speed is critical for targets of large-scale cryptocurrency fraud or cyber-attacks.
The borderless and pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies means stolen assets can be quickly dispersed around the world.
Targets should deploy a speedy, global response, combined with non-traditional approaches, to increase the chances of a substantial recovery.

Debtor-friendly Delaware has strong asset protection laws that make it a destination of choice for global entities and individuals looking to hold their assets in a trust.
This creates a headache for international creditors – recovering assets in a Delaware trust can seem like an insurmountable challenge.
By adopting a creative, aggressive and multijurisdictional strategy, however, creditors can crack even Delaware’s notoriously tough trusts.

As global geopolitical tensions rise, Cypriot-held assets are increasingly under threat.
Governments, competitors and other counterparties are increasingly launching aggressive and often unwarranted attacks against the Cyprus assets of ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
At-risk individuals should work with a cross-border team and local counsel to take strategic steps to defend their assets.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals embroiled in onshore government, commercial or family disputes may find their offshore trusts a vulnerable target.
These often-aggressive attacks set up a complex clash of onshore and offshore law, and demand an equally aggressive and comprehensive response.
There are steps UHNWIs and their advisors can take to reduce their risk exposure and respond to attacks on their wealth.

Debtor-friendly Delaware has strong asset protection laws that make it a destination of choice for global entities and individuals looking to hold their assets in a trust.
This creates a headache for international creditors – recovering assets in a Delaware trust can seem like an insurmountable challenge.
By adopting a creative, aggressive and multijurisdictional strategy, however, creditors can crack even Delaware’s notoriously tough trusts.

Reputation is both a highly valuable and sensitive asset for ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), and is constantly at risk.
A strategically placed narrative aimed at undermining an individual’s commercial or political objectives can “snowball” to impact many aspects of their personal and professional lives.
We explain how defensive and proactive strategies can be deployed to defend an UHNWI’s reputation, demonstrate their source of wealth and protect their freedom of movement around the world.

Section 1782 discovery in the United States is a powerful tool to access information and gain an edge in foreign proceedings.
However, the power of this tool and the ease in which it is granted invites parties to use it in service of goals completely unrelated to ongoing proceedings, such as a negative PR campaign.
Defeating a 1782 application is not easy, but there are counterarguments and cross-border tools available to fight back and turn the tables on an unscrupulous adversary.