Cross-Border Commercial Disputes & Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation
Where the case is decided matters as much as how.
Strategy for commercial disputes that run through more than one legal system at once — jurisdiction, parallel proceedings, evidence and enforcement.
One dispute,
several legal systems.
ME Law represents companies, shareholders, investors and commercial parties in disputes that run through more than one country — contract, shareholder, investment and fraud disputes with foreign counterparties, assets or proceedings. We advise on where to bring or defend the claim, coordinate parallel proceedings with local counsel in each jurisdiction, and plan from the outset how the result will be enforced.
In a cross-border dispute the procedural questions often decide the outcome: which court or tribunal will hear the case, whose law applies, whether the defendant can be served abroad, how evidence held in another country can be obtained, and whether a judgment or award will be recognised where the assets are. We answer those questions first.
- Jurisdiction, forum and governing law
- Parallel proceedings and anti-suit relief
- Service and evidence abroad
- Enforcement where the assets are
In a cross-border dispute, where the case is decided often matters as much as how. Forum is strategy.
Every forum decision
shapes the outcome.
Cross-border disputes are won by coordination — of the forum, the governing law, the interim relief and the enforcement route — so that each step taken in one country strengthens the position in the others.
Where the claim belongs
Jurisdiction and arbitration agreements, the courts that can hear the dispute, and whether to sue, arbitrate or resist proceedings brought elsewhere.
Which law decides
The law of the contract, of the arbitration agreement and of any claim in tort or to property — and how foreign law will be proved.
Preserving assets and evidence
Freezing orders, disclosure and evidence preservation in the countries where the assets and records are.
One strategy across courts
Staying, coordinating or restraining proceedings in other countries — including anti-suit relief where proceedings are brought in breach of an agreement.
The result, where it matters
A judgment or award obtained with its recognition in view, in the countries where the counterparty’s assets are.
Cross-border disputes,
issue by issue.
Cross-border disputes turn on a recurring set of procedural questions. Select a category to see the typical matters and the related services.
Jurisdiction & Forum Disputes
Establishing or challenging jurisdiction over foreign parties, enforcing jurisdiction and arbitration agreements, and applications to stay proceedings in favour of a more appropriate forum.
- Jurisdiction challenges
- Exclusive jurisdiction clauses
- Forum non conveniens
- Service out of the jurisdiction
Parallel Proceedings & Anti-Suit Relief
Coordinating or stopping proceedings in two or more countries — stays, priority between courts, anti-suit injunctions against proceedings brought in breach of an agreement, and the effect of a first judgment elsewhere.
- Concurrent proceedings
- Anti-suit injunctions
- Anti-enforcement relief
- Submission to jurisdiction
Service & Evidence Abroad
Service of proceedings abroad under the HCCH Service Convention and other channels, evidence from abroad under the HCCH Evidence Convention and letters of request, and US discovery for use in foreign court proceedings.
- Hague Service Convention
- Hague Evidence Convention
- Letters of request
- 28 U.S.C. § 1782 applications
Cross-Border Commercial Disputes
Supply, distribution, agency, services, M&A and financing disputes with foreign counterparties — litigated or arbitrated with the enforcement route planned from the start.
- Supply and distribution
- Agency and franchise
- Post-acquisition claims
- Loans and guarantees
Shareholder & Joint-Venture Disputes
Disputes between shareholders and joint-venture partners in different countries, often through offshore holding structures — governance, deadlock, exit and claims for diverted value.
- Deadlock and exit
- Offshore holding structures
- Diverted opportunities
- Valuation disputes
Cross-Border Fraud & Asset Recovery
Fraud and misappropriation claims where assets have been moved through other countries — tracing, freezing relief and recovery coordinated across jurisdictions.
- Worldwide freezing orders
- Disclosure from intermediaries
- Proprietary claims
- Digital assets
Arbitration or Litigation?
Advising on dispute-resolution clauses and, once a dispute arises, on whether to arbitrate or litigate where both are open — weighing neutrality, confidentiality, cost, speed and, above all, enforceability where the assets are.
- Clause drafting and review
- Enforceability analysis
- Multi-tier clauses
- Emergency relief options
How cross-border
disputes are run.
Jurisdiction and forum
Which courts can hear a dispute is decided by each country’s own rules, by any treaty that applies and by the parties’ agreements. An exclusive jurisdiction clause or an arbitration agreement is usually the starting point; without one, courts look at where the defendant is, where the contract was made or performed, where the harm occurred and where the assets are. Common-law courts may decline jurisdiction where another forum is clearly more appropriate (forum non conveniens); civil-law systems more often apply fixed rules of priority.
Parallel proceedings
Disputes with a foreign counterparty often produce proceedings in two or more countries at once. Courts deal with this through rules giving priority to the court first seized, stays in favour of a more appropriate forum or of the court or tribunal the parties chose, and — in common-law jurisdictions — anti-suit injunctions restraining a party from pursuing proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive jurisdiction or arbitration agreement. Coordination is a strategic task: a step taken in one court can amount to submitting to its jurisdiction, and the first judgment obtained can shape the outcome everywhere else.
Service and evidence abroad
Proceedings must be served on a foreign defendant in a way the court accepts — and, ideally, that the country of service recognises, or a later judgment may be refused recognition there. The HCCH Service Convention of 1965 and Evidence Convention of 1970 provide channels between their Contracting States, the United States, the United Kingdom and China among them, for serving documents and obtaining evidence abroad. In the United States, 28 U.S.C. § 1782 also allows parties to foreign court proceedings to seek discovery from persons there.
Foreign law
Where a dispute is governed by a foreign law, common-law courts generally treat that law as a question of fact to be proved, usually by expert evidence; many civil-law courts ascertain foreign law themselves. The law governing the contract — and, separately, the arbitration agreement — is best settled in the contract rather than left to be argued.
Enforcement where the assets are
A judgment or award is only as valuable as the courts that will enforce it. See cross-border enforcement, foreign judgments and award enforcement.
Parties with disputes
in more than one country.
We act for claimants and defendants whose disputes, counterparties or assets cross borders.
Multinational & Cross-Border Companies
Disputes with customers, suppliers, distributors and partners in other countries.
Foreign Investors & Funds
Investment, shareholder and financing disputes involving foreign counterparties.
Shareholders & Joint-Venture Partners
Governance, exit and diverted-value disputes across offshore structures.
Lenders & Financial Institutions
Recovery against borrowers and guarantors in several jurisdictions.
General Counsel & In-House Teams
Forum strategy and coordination of counsel in each country.
Defendants Facing Foreign Proceedings
Challenging jurisdiction, coordinating defences and resisting enforcement.
Disputes with
key trading partners.
How disputes with parties in each jurisdiction are litigated, and how their judgments and awards are enforced abroad.
Cross-border disputes reward the side that coordinates. We plan every jurisdiction as part of one strategy.
A dispute that
crosses borders?
Speak with senior counsel before the first procedural step is taken in any country — forum, interim relief and enforcement decisions are hardest to reverse.
Consultations are held in person or by video, wherever you are. Describe the matter briefly — no confidential details are needed until a conflict check is complete.