International Private Client

Kobre & Kim provides offensive and defensive cross-border litigation and crisis management strategies to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) with global business interests, to preserve their assets, liberty and reputation. Our team of former U.S. government lawyers and commercial litigators have a proven track record of coordinating multi-jurisdictional offensive, counter-offensive and defensive strategies on behalf of international private clients in anticipation, or as a result of, high-stakes civil and criminal proceedings and investigations aimed at asset forfeiture or confiscation. Our multidimensional approach to UHNWI disputes, which includes the deployment of both in-court and out-of-court strategies, is the premier solution for resolving business disputes and sovereign-driven investigations, tracing and recovering misappropriated funds, defending against asset attacks, as well as acquiring and strategically deploying information to provide UHNWIs with a commercial advantage in their disputes and investigations.


Firm News March 28, 2022

British entrepreneur Harvey Boulter exonerated after UK liquidators’ allegations of fraud are rejected in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands

Kobre & Kim has secured a victory in the Financial Services Division of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for Harvey Boulter in proceedings arising from his former role as a director of two Cayman companies within his own venture capital group, Porton Capital, as well as his role as a director of Enigma Diagnostics Ltd. 

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Firm News March 24, 2022

Spain’s Emeritus King Denied Right to Sovereign Immunity in Harassment Case

The High Court of Justice in the UK ruled today that Juan Carlos de Borbón y Borbón, the King Emeritus of Spain, does not have the right to sovereign immunity in relation to the claim brought against him by Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein in the English courts.

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Events March 11, 2022

Martin De Luca Explores Sports Disputes in Exclusive Cambridge Forums Event

The world of global sports is rife with disputes and investigations, from issues related to integrity, conflict of interest and antitrust surrounding the increasingly lucrative ownership of sports teams by ultra-high-net-worth individuals, investors and companies; to ethics, governance and justice in sports law; to the impact of COVID-19 on the balance sheets of sporting properties. 

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Publications March 8, 2022

Evelyn Sheehan Contrasts U.S. Sanctions and Asset Seizures Against Russian Oligarchs on NPR’s Planet Money

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led the United States and its allies to sanction Russian oligarchs and seize their yachts, condos and other assets. Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who led asset forfeiture efforts from South Florida, sat down with NPR’s “Planet Money” to explain the difference between sanctions and asset seizures, and to offer a word of caution against ensnaring innocent third parties.

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Publications February 28, 2022

Miranda Ching, Robin Rathmell, Edward Smith, Polly Wilkins in WealthBriefing: UK Supreme Court Confirms HNWI Privacy Rights

A recent landmark UK Supreme Court ruling confirms a reasonable expectation of privacy for individuals who are under criminal investigation but have not been charged. Kobre & Kim’s Miranda Ching, Robin Rathmell, Edward Smith and Polly Wilkins – part of the International Private Client team in London – write in WealthBriefing what the implications of this ruling are for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) sensitive to press intrusion.

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Accolades January 28, 2022

2022 Private Client Elite Global Directory Lists Robin Rathmell, Polly Wilkins, Evelyn Sheehan, Nicholas Surmacz, Jason Short

Kobre & Kim’s Robin Rathmell, Polly Wilkins, Evelyn Sheehan, Nicholas Surmacz and Jason Short have all been recognized among the world’s top practitioners serving global private clients in the latest Private Client Elite Global Directory.

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Events January 26, 2022

Vasu Muthyala on Maintaining Cross-Border Attorney-Client Protections in ABA Virtual Roundtable

Attorney-client privilege is taken for granted in many jurisdictions where communications between the two are kept confidential. This is a point of great concern in highly sensitive cross-border cases where protections vary. Vasu Muthyala shared the most important considerations when he joined an American Bar Association virtual roundtable at 10:30 pm Hong Kong time, January 25, 2022.

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Accolades January 13, 2022

Robin Rathmell and Polly Wilkins Recognized in 2022 Spear’s 500

We are proud that Kobre & Kim’s Robin Rathmell and Polly Wilkins have both been recognized in the 2022 edition of The Spear’s 500 by Spear’s Magazine, a guide to the top private client advisors, wealth managers, lawyers and service providers for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

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Publications January 11, 2022

Evelyn Sheehan on Far-Reaching U.S. Sanctions Against Latin America in Part Two of Q&A with Aguilar Castillo Love

As part of U.S. law enforcement’s focus on fighting money laundering and corruption in Latin America, sanctions have become a “powerful, rapid-fire tool” in the arsenal, Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan told Aguilar Castillo Love’s Natalia Callejas in the second part of a Q&A on new enforcement trends in the region.

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Publications December 22, 2021

Evelyn Sheehan Unpacks FinCEN’s “Drumbeat” of Real Estate Reporting Duties in Global Investigations Review

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released plans to increase oversight of the real estate market to fight money laundering, the latest in “a consistent drumbeat” of ever-growing reporting duties for global buyers and real estate professionals, Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan explained to Global Investigations Review.

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Publications December 2, 2021

Martin De Luca, Wade Weems and Scott Nielson on Growing U.S. Enforcement Against Central America

The passage of the United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act in the U.S. last year – aimed at targeted sanctions to fight corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras –led to the U.S. State Department’s creation of the “Engel List.” The Engel List is a list of corrupt and undemocratic actors in those countries. It signals the United States’ accelerating enforcement in Central America, increasing risks for individuals in the region, as Kobre & Kim’s Martin De Luca, Wade Weems and Scott Nielson explained in an article for The Anti-Corruption Report.

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Events December 1, 2021

Evelyn Sheehan to Lead IFG Panel on Family Governance Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Kobre & Kim's Evelyn Baltodano-Sheehan, who formulates offensive and defensive global litigation strategies for high-net-worth international private clients involved in high-stakes, cross-border disputes, will join the the 2021 Miami Conference hosted by the Institute of Family Governance to discuss developments in family governance disputes across Miami and the Latin American regions. 

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Accolades November 16, 2021

Kobre & Kim and Peter Tyers-Smith Earn Top Legal 500 Caribbean Recognitions

The latest Legal 500 Caribbean analysis once again placed Kobre & Kim among the very top dispute resolution law firms in the Cayman Islands, in addition to giving special recognition to Peter Tyers-Smith among individual practitioners.

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Publications November 11, 2021

Polly Wilkins on HNWI Reputation and Crisis Management for Burlingtons Group

Kobre & Kim’s Polly Wilkins, who focuses her practice on reputational issues and crisis management for ultra-high net worth individuals, shared her thoughts for the Burlingtons Group Autumn 2021 Magazine about how quickly negative news coverage can escalate, resulting in compromised international asset structures or even investigations by government authorities. 

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Events November 2, 2021

Evelyn Sheehan and Martin De Luca Unpack Transnational Crime Issues at IBA Conference

Crime is increasingly transnational: criminals stash proceeds of crime around the world, and suspects are pursued across continents with international arrest warrants. But coordinating cross-border actions is complicated and practitioners must grasp the issues at stake. Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan and Martin De Luca will take a deep dive into these topics during the International Bar Association’s (IBA) 23rd Annual Transnational Crime Conference from November 3 to 5, 2021, at The Westin Palace in Madrid, Spain.

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