December 21, 2021 – Lei Jiang Law Firm

An international dispute pending in the US District Court Northern District of Ohio, case number 1:20-CV-00601-SO has been settled to the parties’ satisfaction. We represented the plaintiff.

The case started in March 2020 when the plaintiff filed its complaint with the district court. Since then, parties filed pleadings, motions and engaged in discovery. Based on newly obtained information, plaintiff filed its amended complaint which drastically changed the landscape of the case. Soon after, both parties were able to sit down and discuss possible resolutions for the dispute. With the court’s assistance, the parties finally settled all issues between them in December 2021.

The case was litigated during the COVID pandemic. Thus, all hearings were conducted in a virtual setting. Plaintiff received just compensation and was satisfied with the result and our service because we maximized the client’s rights and benefits.

International business litigation has many more challenges than routine domestic civil litigation. It also requires additional skills and abilities. For example, the first step – service of process could be a daunting task. In this case, the defendants tried all means to avoid being served. The service alone took many months. Nonetheless, we were good at it, and in the end, we obtained a good result for the client. If you have an international business dispute, please contact us.

A five-million-dollar merger and acquisition was concluded right after the Thanksgiving Holiday. The initial closing was set for November 24, 2021, the day before Thanksgiving. Instead it was closed on November 26, 2021.

In this case, the purchaser was a Nasdaq listed company specializing in international education. It acquired 70% of the ownership of an Ohio private investment company specializing in higher education. This acquisition was done in two steps. The first was the purchasing of the 70% ownership interest. Then, immediately following the first closing, the company subscribed 900 new shares as part of the deal (subscription closing). Two closings were scheduled back-to-back.

There were some challenging issues of the deal which required special skills. For example, the seller company had several classes of shares and non-diluted shares. Also, the seller company’s shareholders were non-US persons. Finally, the seller company had de facto subsidiaries, including an international subsidiary. All of these factors increased the deal’s complexity.

We represented the seller company and were working around the clock to meet the deadlines. In the end, both closings were successfully completed. Our client was satisfied with our help. Moreover, the client went the extra mile to acknowledge our work by rating us positively on Google.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) require high-level skills that are not easily obtainable. Skills and experience from legal areas such as business transaction, taxation, IP, or even immigration may be called together in this type of work.

We are happy with the positive results and synergies created by this deal. Case after case shows that our commitment to our client’s success is real and never fading. If you have M&A work, please contact us.