PRACTICE AREA
International Law
Keller Rohrback has been honored to represent various sovereign nations in their disputes with other parties, including governments and business entities.
As part of their work, Keller Rohrback attorneys advance complex national and international aspects of treaty law, including with regard to its application, breach, and enforceability. Keller Rohrback clients also have included state and local governments, and quasigovernmental agencies where international agreements are at issue.
As part of its litigation practice area, the firm’s work includes representing various private clients with international interests as well as clients in international arbitration proceedings, both of which involve application of international agreements.
Keller Rohrback clients included sovereign nations, state and local governments, sovereign Native American tribes, and quasi-governmental agencies where international agreements or other tort or statutory claims are at issue.
The firm’s attorneys have argued cases in the International Court of Justice and pursued a breach of treaty claim on behalf of a sovereign nation. Keller Rohrback is also investigating environmental contamination claims on behalf of a sovereign nation.
Keller Rohrback attorneys have also represented clients in international arbitration proceedings, including International Centre for Dispute Resolution and International Chamber of Commerce arbitrations, as well as ad hoc arbitrations conducted under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Arbitration Rules. Domestically, these international arbitrations have given rise to related litigation in U.S. courts, including confirmation and enforcement proceedings under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
In addition, Keller Rohrback attorneys have represented private clients with international interests in civil litigation in U.S. courts, including state and federal courts in California, New York, Illinois, and Texas. Keller Rohrback attorneys have litigated trademark claims on foreign-registered trademarks in several western European countries and have also succeeded in obtaining rulings to conduct depositions and other discovery in Russia for litigation matters pending in the U.S. federal courts. The firm has also represented claimants in insolvency proceedings in Canada, proceeding under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
Keller Rohrback is a member firm of several international organizations: the Global Justice Network, a consortium of international counsel working together and across borders for the benefit of victims; the International Financial Litigation Network of attorneys, who handle cross-border litigation in the finance arena; and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, a global organization of asset managers and service providers.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands v. United States of America et al.
(N.D. Cal.) Keller Rohrback represented the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in an action for breach of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and also represented the RMI in cases at the International Court of Justice against the United Kingdom, India, and Pakistan, for breach of treaty and violations of customary international law. For this ground-breaking work, Keller Rohrback was nominated by the International Peace Bureau for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize as part of the international legal team, together with the RMI’s former Foreign Minister, Tony deBrum.