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Advise businesses internationally
We help our clients in the negotiation and drafting of international contracts with the objective of seeking entry into foreign markets and to establishing themselves in these markets. We have acquired extensive business experience by advising businesses and governmental organizations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. CMKZ is a strategic and highly qualified partner that will minimize its clients’ risks in their operations abroad while maximizing their chances of success. We are recognized by other legal practitioners for our specialized expertise and are frequently called upon by them to consult on issues relating to international transactions.
An important part of our practice is negotiating and drafting international contracts.
Our expertise extends to a variety of international contracts, such as letters of intent, agreements with respect to confidentiality, sales, supply, distribution, licencing, technology transfer, electronic commerce, strategic alliances, consortiums and joint ventures. We also handle matters related to financing transactions, restructuring of business and/or of debt, mergers, trusts and public-private partnerships. We are called upon by our clients to draft provisions adapted to international contracts such as alternate dispute resolution, arbitration, governing law, exclusivity and limitation of liability.
We team up with our clients in order to understand the issues and inherent risks associated with their operations in Canada and abroad and to find the most appropriate solution to suit their needs.
In the event of a dispute, we call upon our pertinent expertise to defend and protect our clients’ interests. Our intervention enables us to assess our clients’ risks and to identify strategies most suited to their situation. CMKZ will organize and coordinate teams of attorneys and experts in their field located in various jurisdictions to ensure an effective representation of its clients before the competent judicial and arbitral bodies. As accredited mediators, we will use mediation, when appropriate, or seek alternative methods of dispute resolution.
In this context, we are frequently called upon to ensure regulatory product compliance as well as service and technology compliance in foreign markets, to render opinions on export controls of certain products in relation to destinations under embargo and to assist our clients in obtaining the mandatory authorizations to commercialize their products, particularly, medicinal, pharmaceutical and homeopathic products. CMKZ also frequently intervenes in the preparation, filing and defense of foreign tender bids. We also advise our clients on the optimization of international transactions for tax purposes, the negotiation of letters of credit, their relationships with freight forwarders and carriers, and on the most cost effective way to minimize any customs duties associated with our clients’ transactions.
Since intellectual property rights are of paramount importance for any business, we are committed to ensure the protection and registration of such rights abroad. As trademark agents, we oversee the filing for registration and the defense of our clients’ trademarks worldwide, and formulate strategies to strengthen our clients’ intellectual property rights which may also include patents, copyrights, know-how and trade secrets.
Our knowledge of foreign markets and their business practices allows us to intervene both at the implementation phase and execution phase. We assist our clients in every phase of their implementation abroad by obtaining the mandatory authorizations to invest and by taking all precautionary measures to secure the capital invested by our clients. We also advise our clients on regulatory compliance and compliance with competition rules, on the necessity to obtain work permits or residency for its employees, as the situation requires, while simultaneously minimizing any negative tax consequences resulting from our clients’ activities abroad.
These treaties and trade agreements, some of which have been ratified by Canada, generally facilitate the trading of goods and services, procurement in public and private tender offerings, investments, protection of intellectual property rights in a non-discriminatory manner and further provide effective mechanisms for dispute resolution. Such treaties and trade agreements offer a more stable and permanent framework allowing businesses and governments to establish long-term development strategies for their commercial activities.
Our expertise allows our clients to positively affect their business activities by assisting them in developing commercial strategies best suited for their industry on the basis of these international treaties and trade agreements. These strategies influence the organization and utilization of resources, the optimization of financial and tax structures, the choice of suppliers, the destination markets and implementation of branches or subsidiaries abroad, the structuring of investments abroad, the mobility of employees and management, as well as the defense against discriminatory and restrictive practices by foreign public authorities.
We have for a number of years maintained strong relationships with customs brokers, freight forwarders and carriers, as well as law firms and other experienced correspondents in foreign jurisdictions. This network of professionals that we have carefully selected enables us to ensure that our clients continue to receive premium quality service.
CMKZ has built a strong reputation in the sector of international business and trade law. We actively participate and occupy key positions in numerous professional associations such as the International Law Association (ILA), the international law sections of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), national and foreign chambers of commerce and other professional organizations with an international vocation.