Promoting Transatlantic Commerce
For over 40 years, Parker Poe has promoted transatlantic trade and investment through legal counsel, business advice, and personal relationships.
As part of our service to companies specifically based in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, we were the first Carolinas-based law firm with a dedicated international practice group in 1984. Since then, we have represented hundreds of companies in those countries and across Europe, including (for example only) from the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France. We have offices in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. We are a full-service law firm and provide legal services in areas such as:
- Foreign Direct Investment and Entry Into the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Other Countries
- Site Selection and Business Expansion and Location Solutions
- Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Inbound and Outbound Cross-Border Transactions
- Corporate Structuring and Tax
- Employment and Employee Benefits
- Immigration and Visa
- Real Estate and Environmental
- Intellectual Property
- Regulatory and Government
- Risk Management
- Domestic and International Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution
- International Trade and U.S. Customs
Supporting International Business
Parker Poe is also a member of two leading international legal networks: TerraLex and the Employment Law Alliance. TerraLex and the ELA have chosen Parker Poe to help guide clients through the challenges of global business.
Parker Poe is also a member of the European American Chamber of Commerce, the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC), the French American Chamber of Commerce chapters in our footprint, the Belgian American Chamber of the South, the British American Business Council, and the World Affairs Council of Charlotte and Columbia.
Our team regularly participates in the SelectUSA Investment Summit, where we partner with international business leaders to advance their expansion goals in the U.S. In addition, we have personal connections with government, economic development, and business leaders in Europe and the U.S.
We frequently visit current and potential clients in Europe to discuss current and future opportunities within the North American market.
Personal Connections
In addition to other Parker Poe lawyers who actively support global business and our clients, the professionals on our European team include:
- Charlotte partner Al Guarnieri has been a member of the leadership team for the GACC’s North Carolina Chapter since its founding almost 20 years ago. He also serves as the director of The American Council on Germany, Charlotte Chapter.
- Charleston partner Elizabeth Gibbes serves as honorary consul of Germany for South Carolina and Georgia. In this role, she helps represent the interests of German businesses and citizens in designated counties in eastern South Carolina and eastern Georgia. Elizabeth is a dual-national of German descent who has studied in Germany, France, and Mexico.
- Columbia partner Sam Moses served on the GACC South’s board of directors for nearly a decade and continues to serve as a member of the leadership team of the GACC South Carolina Chapter, a role in which he has served for nearly 15 years. Sam served as managing director of the State of South Carolina's European Office, based in Munich, Germany, and was a Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Fellow in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
- Charlotte partner Michel Vanesse serves as an advisor in economic diplomacy for Belgium. The consul general of Belgium in Atlanta nominated Michel based on Michel’s knowledge of the social, economic, and financial environment in both the U.S. and Belgium. He also serves on the board of directors for the Belgian American Chamber of the South. Michel was born and grew up in Brussels, Belgium.
- Charleston counsel Alison Razet is a dual national (U.S.-France) active in the French-American community in Charleston, South Carolina, and the broader region. She has lived, studied and worked extensively internationally, including studying at Central European University.
- Parker Poe Consulting principal Sven Gerzer has served on the leadership team of the GACC North Carolina Chapter. Sven grew up and began his economic development career in Munich, Germany. He is bilingual in German and English and has an extensive network in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
- Charleston counsel Caroline Frey is a Swiss-American who has extensive experience living, studying, and working overseas, including at the University of Hamburg in Germany.
Guide to Doing Business in the U.S.
Our firm offers a detailed guide that highlights some of the legal aspects of entering and doing business in the U.S., including a German-language version. To receive that guide and to learn more about how we support transatlantic commerce at the business level, the policy level, and the personal level, please contact the professionals on the left side of this page.