Each year, our members around the world provide numerous Success Stories detailing how their firms have leveraged their TAG Alliances Membership to benefit their firm and their clients. In video and written format below, our members reflect on their experiences as TAG Alliances members and detail some of the Success Stories they experienced in 2023.
"...We Have Already Relied on TAGLaw to Direct our Clients to High Quality Local Counsel..."
"Upon joining TAGLaw this year, I was very impressed with the warm welcome we received from various TAGLaw Members. In terms of substantive collaboration, we have already relied on TAGLaw to direct our clients to high-quality local counsel in other jurisdictions. Just the other day, I was happy to introduce one of our partners, Gary Li, to the Russin & Vecchi (Vietnam - TAGLaw) team, as one of Gary's clients needed local representation on business there. One of our other partners, Edward Lu, may have just been engaged as PRC counsel in a matter referred by Clarkslegal LLP (Reading, England - TAGLaw). I also had the pleasure of helping von Briesen & Roper, s.c. (Wisconsin, USA - TAGLaw) on a small procedural matter involving China, as we provided some quick public information, which I know his client appreciated. Meanwhile, we are also actively fielding other, more open-ended explorations to potentially cooperate on certain workstreams: I was pleased to meet with Kapil Mahajan of Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP (Gurgaon, India - TIAG) this past week and discuss opportunities that may arise between India and China. I look forward to further exploring these opportunities and building personal ties with our fellow TAG Alliances Members."
––Chris Beall; DaHui Lawyers (Beijing, China - TAGLaw)
"Being Part of TAGLaw is Like Having Access to a Legal Superhero Squad."
"Being part of TAGLaw is like having access to a legal superhero squad. Our clients and colleagues often need specific help quickly. Getting to know our fellow members ensures I can broker a warm introduction to top-notch legal support wherever our matters take us.”
––Anna K. Derewenda; Williams Mullen (Virginia & North Carolina, USA - TAGLaw)
"...He Treated [My Colleague] as Part of His Own Team…"
I have had the opportunity to build a collaborative relationship with Raymond Polantz from Cohen & Company (Ohio, USA - TIAG) through our TIAG membership. Our relationship has developed so well over the years that even my team working with Raymond feels like a part of their firm. When my colleague Sarthak attended his first TAG Alliances International Conference, Raymond was happy to meet Sarthak and ensure that Sarthak was comfortable. Raymond even introduced Sarthak to many other partners from different TAG Alliances firms in attendance. His warm support for my colleague was exceptional, and he treated Sarthak as part of his team. That incident has helped build deeper bonds. To this day, Sarthak still mentions it to the team and feels great about it."
––Amit Maheshwari; Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP (Gurgaon, India - TIAG)
“Opening International Doors...”
"Over a two-week period this year, I had three enquiries from existing or new commercial clients wanting advice on the law and jurisdiction of another country. Did it mean Kuits could not help? Of course not. Our TAG Alliances membership meant I could seamlessly connect the client directly to a trusted international legal advisor with expertise to help the client immediately. Does this mean I have less work available to me? Of course not. I'm currently advising on the enforcement of an international judgment in the U.K. Opening international doors for commercial business and legal advice swings both ways!"
––Manisha Modasia; Kuit Steinart Levy LLP (Manchester, England - TAGLaw)
“The Advantages of an International Alliance...are Apparent to us on a Regular Basis.”
"von Briesen & Roper is one of the founding members of TAG Alliances and has enjoyed the benefits of the association through inbound and outbound referrals, insights from conferences and specialty groups, experiences shared during management tracking meetings, and so many other opportunities. The advantages of an international alliance of subject matter experts are apparent to us regularly. We have relied on our colleagues in jurisdictions worldwide, from Australia, India, China, Japan, the UAE, Europe, Canada, and, of course, with our stateside friends.
One of our most recent examples involved a Wisconsin-based client with manufacturing operations nationwide and in Canada. An employee suffered a serious workplace injury that required notification to the Canadian counterpart to our OSHA. Steve Nelson of von Briesen handles workplace injury investigations across the USA, but due to the Canadian situs of the injury and differing Canadian regulations and processes before the Ministry of Labour; Steve reached out to our TAGLaw affiliate Blaney McMurtry LLP (Ontario, Canada). Jack Siegel at Blaney McMurtry was very responsive and provided the necessary information to educate our client about what it may expect in terms of potential citations, penalties, next steps, gathering information, etc. We anticipate our client will use Blaney McMurtry once things heat up—an overall great experience.
Thanks to Jack at Blaney McMurtry and all of our TAG Alliances affiliates upon whom we have relied over the many years of our membership."
––David J. Edquist; von Briesen & Roper, s.c. (Wisconsin, USA - TAGLaw)
Providing a "Collaborative Approach" for the Client Through TAG Alliances
"AAB received an enquiry to assist a prospective client with an expansion into the U.S. The company is headquartered in the Middle East and has never provided services outside of this area, so it required support from both a corporate structuring perspective and the need to move employees and contractors across international borders.
After an initial call, we established that a collaborative approach would be best for the client, with AAB partnering with a provider in the U.S. who could support the initial corporate setup and ongoing compliance. Our thoughts immediately turned to Weaver (Texas, USA - TIAG), with whom we have a successful history of referrals and working together. With support from Vince Houk and Craig Epstein, in particular, we secured the client and provided them with the services they needed to establish themselves in the U.S. market. With AAB providing global payroll, employment tax and employee compliance services and Weaver advising from an entity perspective, we were able to offer an end-to-end service utilizing the skills and experience of both firms but aligned as part of the TAG Alliances.
Recently, this same client has come back to AAB to ask for a number of additional services relating to contractors and international tax advice now that their business has taken off in the U.S. Once again, a joint proposal for support between AAB and Weaver was deemed the best approach, and with the feedback from the client the first time around being so positive, this has now resulted in terms being agreed and a project to be delivered in the coming months and beyond."
––Douglas Michael; AAB (Scotland - TIAG)
“TAG Alliances' Global Reach is an Amazing Asset to Our Firm and Our Clients.”
"We recently collaborated with Studio Legale Sutti (Italy - TAGLaw) to assist our client in acquiring an Italian company. This was our client's first international acquisition, and Studio Legale Sutti was extremely helpful in negotiating a successful closing. They were very responsive and worked as advocates in our client's best interest. Our client came away extremely impressed with their work and was grateful we could make this connection for them. TAG Alliances' global reach is an amazing asset to our firm and clients."
––Raymond Polantz; Cohen & Company (Ohio, USA - TIAG)
“...The Ease of Connecting…”
“I had a friend who went to Portugal to explore the crypto scene. I am based normally in New Zealand but happened to be in Singapore at the time and was able to quickly connect her to Espanha e Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL (Portugal - TAGLaw) to assist. That highlighted to me the ease of connecting people and the value of the alliance."
––Kathleen Morrison; Meredith Connell (New Zealand - TAGLaw)
“Thanks to the Relationships We Have Built Through our TAGLaw Membership...”
"One of our clients, one of the largest video game developers in the world, needed assistance with a regulatory matter in several different countries in Latin America. Thanks to the relationships we have built through our TAGLaw membership, we were able to refer the client to members in each of these countries, including Guerrero Olivos (Chile - TAGLaw), Brons & Salas (Argentina - TAGLaw), and DHC - De Bracamonte, Haaker & Castellares Abogados (Peru - TAGLaw). Our client was delighted with the service provided."
––Alejandro Sobarzo Hadad; Kuri Breña, Sanchez Ugarte and Aznar (Mexico - TAGLaw)
"...A Longstanding Relationship..."
"Herrick has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with our TAGLaw colleague Paul Tauber and his firm Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP (San Francisco, California, USA - TAGLaw), typically acting as New York local counsel. We have worked closely with Paul and his firm on several complex financing transactions. These financing transactions typically involve the issuance of notes collateralized by bond insurance, deposit account control agreements and proceeds disbursement agreements. In connection with these financings, we review and advise as to the proposed financing structure and documents and deliver New York local counsel opinions required as a condition to funding by the lenders. The robust and enduring working relationship between our firms has enhanced the capabilities of both firms to offer comprehensive advice across regions of the U.S.”
––Irwin A. Kishner; Herrick, Feinstein LLP (New York, USA - TAGLaw)
"...Growing our International Tax Practice..."
"Sax is happy to be a new TIAG member, and in the very short time that we have been a part of this group, we have seen some amazing collaboration on behalf of our clients thanks to Lisa Goldman, Sax Partner and her commitment to growing our International Tax practice for the firm."
––Leon Grassi; Sax LLP (New York & New Jersey, USA - TIAG)
“...A Best Friends Collaboration Agreement...”
"This year, our firm signed a best friends collaboration agreement with fellow TAGLaw member Studio Legale Sutti (Italy - TAGLaw) to offer advice and service to our clients. The partnership also aims to organize training, promotion and events between both firms, initiate exchanges between our firms' professionals, and improve mutual knowledge of the laws of each of our countries. This agreement strengthens our international projection and the firm's value thanks to the support of our colleagues at Studio Legale Sutti and the possibilities of collaboration; it will also reinforce our Italian Desk service and relations with our Italian clients."
––Elena Escura; Bufete Escura (Barcelona, Spain - TAGLaw & Spain - TIAG)
“...A Tremendous Resource...”
“Last year, we reached out to the TAG Alliances Team seeking local counsel in New Zealand who could assist in acquisition transactions we were pursuing. We were put in touch with Meredith Connell (New Zealand - TAGLaw) whose Main Contact, Fionnghuala Cuncannon, was very helpful and quick to respond. Fionnghuala connected me with her colleague, John Stephens, who has extensive experience assisting overseas parties with acquisitions in New Zealand.
This year, we completed, entirely remotely, two bolt-on acquisition transactions in New Zealand with Meredith Connell's assistance. John and his colleague, Georgia Gamboni, did an outstanding job for us, with Georgia shepherding the day-to-day transaction needs, ably dealing with our team being in multiple time zones.
Meredith Connell has been a tremendous resource to Rock-It Global and we are very thankful for our working relationship with them, which was made possible through our TAG Alliances membership.”
––Jacob Fisher; Rock-It Global (TAG Alumni - TAG-SP)
“Thanks to Our Connection with TAGLaw...”
"We had the pleasure of assisting Aumento Law Fim (Denmark - TAGLaw) on a challenging project that required bringing sub-suppliers on board for tree maintenance contracts in Scotland. Thanks to our connection with TAGLaw, we were well-equipped to handle this project and could navigate the complexities of immigration, employment, and tax regulations seamlessly in time for their busy Christmas season.
Through our efforts, we fulfilled clients' requirements and strengthened our relationship with Aumento. We hope this has opened up opportunities for future collaboration with them."
––Grace McGill; Burness Paull LLP (Scotland - TAGLaw)
"...No Hesitations in Recommending..."
"When thinking of a Success Story, one particular interaction I had with Katja Zdolsek of Zdolšek – attorneys at law (Slovenia - TAGLaw) comes to mind. Katja graciously answered some questions I had on Slovenian law, it was so easy to talk to her, and she was so relatable, both on a personal and a professional level, that I had no hesitations in recommending her to our clients.
––Ancuta Pop; Ijdelea & Associates (Romania - TAGLaw)
"...A Rewarding Experience Working with Other Members..."
"After many years of continuing to service our clients only using local resources, our firm has now engaged other alliance member firms abroad to do preliminary work on some of our files. It has been a rewarding experience working with other members of the alliance."
––Joseph Franck; Lowe Lippmann (Victoria, Australia - TIAG)
“Truly a Success and Much Appreciated.”
"My success story involves a recent collaboration on the financing and purchase of a Canadian and U.S. company by our client.
Our client needed counsel in Illinois quickly, so I contacted Matt Jackson at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP (BFKN) (Illinois, USA - TAGLaw). Matt put me in touch immediately with Michael Tomczyk and Will Cronin at BFKN. They did a great job, and the client was impressed with the speed at which we could staff the file and get things done. I had a conversation with the client afterwards, and they will likely use BFKN going forward on their matters.
Truly a success and much appreciated."
––Steve Popoff; Blaney McMurtry LLP (Ontario, Canada - TAGLaw)
The Path of a Successful TAG Alliances Collaboration
"Two European companies with ties to Connecticut were looking to start selling goods and services in the United States. The client was recently referred to our firm by TAG Alliances members in Europe. However, our firm does not practice import/export law and I also saw the need for some additional tax and accounting assistance. Instead of sending them to a large regional competitor, I connected the client with John Morrier from Casner and Edwards (Massachusetts, USA - TAGLaw), who connected us with a great import/export expert in Boston who is now fully engaged, bringing in expertise that we do not have.
At the recent TAG Alliances International Conference in Chicago, I had the opportunity to connect with Josh Finfrock and Craig Epstein from Weaver (Texas, USA - TIAG) on the accounting side. We looped in everyone as needed, built a nice team to help these foreign companies get going on the development of their U.S. markets, and both matters are off and running.
To summarize, this story covers several positives about the TAG Alliances: (1) a TAG Alliances-based referral into our firm from another member; (2) realizing the direct benefits of attending conferences where, by meeting and talking with Josh and Craig, I learned that the deal needed their help and that they would be key resources – frankly, I likely would have struggled nailing down the accounting resources otherwise; (3) connecting the legal and accounting sides of TAG Alliances for mutual business development; and (4) using our TAG Alliances connections with John Morrier to help with a subsequent referral to a very specialized area of the law (import/export) that completed the loop."
––Thomas Kasper; Reid and Riege, P.C. (Connecticut, USA - TAGLaw)
