Having close family ties on three continents, Attorney Bernard (Bert) van Gils began his legal career in international business. He has more than twenty-five years of experience advising and representing clients in a variety of international commercial transactions and legal compliance matters including advising U.S. companies entering international markets, assisting overseas businesses with penetrating the U.S. market, and representing foreign and domestic clients before state, federal and foreign offices.
Services for the overseas client:
The dynamic area around Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. is an active nexus between government, high technology and international trading activities. With a presence in this area, firms have convenient access to the U.S. government, rail, port and airport facilities, free trade zones, international financial institutions, embassies and international organizations.
The Van Gils Law Firm assists businesses coming to this dynamic market in a number of ways:
- Providing assistance with opening offices and subsidiaries and designing business structures to be compatible with laws, regulations and the effective functioning of business strategies.
- Advising on laws, regulations, and policies affecting the penetration of the U.S. market.
- Providing representation before financial institutions and local, state and federal government agencies.
- Negotiating investment, sales, joint venture, and licensing agreements.
- Consulting on complex legal and political challenges.
Services for U.S. firms conducting business internationally:
International transactions provide particular challenges whether they involve the purchase or sale of products, the transfer of technology, or the investment in a chosen market. Cross-border exchanges frequently involve comparative analysis of legal structures, dispute resolution, alternate financing and structuring the transaction to minimize taxation.
The international purchase and sale of products and technology requires careful drafting of contract terms, arranging trade financing, appointment of agents, providing for security and enforceability, providing for country risk, export controls, ensuring shipment of products and their proper customs treatment, clearance and acceptance.
Modern sophisticated technology transfer agreements require a careful analysis of issues of intellectual property protections, the establishment and collection of reasonable royalties, observance of competition policy in other countries, among others. The more advanced the technology the greater the need to observe all export controls on technical data. Bert has experience with negotiating and drafting a variety of agreements which reflect the parties intent and are enforceable through appropriate dispute resolution clauses.
The added complexity of international transactions should not dissuade the enterprising firm from reaching the global market. The ability to tap new markets is what will distinguish the firms that will have strong sustained growth over time despite the variations in the domestic market. Bert van Gils has successfully conducted business on a global basis throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.