Global Business Transactions

Contracts are the heart of any international business venture.  In its simplest form, a contract is nothing more than the exchange of mutual promises by two or more parties.  Companies involved in international commercial transactions, however, are routinely faced with sensitive issues in negotiating, drafting, and interpretation of commercial agreements, issues not present in purely domestic transactions. 

One of the most important yet overlooked issues by companies when negotiating with a foreign nationals are the cultural nuances and business etiquette the other party brings to the bargaining table.  All parties bring to the negotiating table assumptions, experience, and knowledge based on a legal framework not shared by the other party.   Behavior that may seem rude, inappropriate, and uncompromising to one party in the negotiation may simply be the accepted business etiquette and cultural norms of the party.  Without experience and cultural sensitivity, these different negotiation tactics may have disasterous consequences for any potential business venture.  

For example, Russians generally view compromise as a sign of weakness and expect loss of temper, walkouts, and threats to end the deal as a normal part of the negotiation process.  Conversely, in China,  emotional restraint is held in high esteem when involved in negotiation.  It is important to to avoid overt conflict, and thus Chinese will not directly say “no” to you. Instead, ambivalent answers such as “I'll think about it” or  “it would be difficult” usually mean no.

How We Serve Our Clients

Not only do we bring our years of business and legal experience to the negotiation table, our attorneys also bring a keen sense of cultural awareness and sensitivity.  Thus, we are adept at assisting parties bridge the culture gap to a mutually beneficial business relationship. Other important concerns unique to international or cross-border commercial agreements are the written language of the contract, choice of law governing the agreement, and manner and location of dispute resolution.  Although English is becoming the standard language in many international agreements, it may be an issue for many parties.  Moreover, choice of law and dispute resolution mechanisms, even though agreeded to in writing may not prevent a party to the agreement from successfully having a lawsuit brought before their domestic courts, contrary to the terms agreement.  These are all issues that require the guidance of a skilled transactional lawyers like ours.