Robert Wethmar, of Taylor Wessing’s office in Hamburg, Germany, had a client that was under a multi-year contract with its North American distributor. The contract was governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, U.S., where the distributor was headquartered. As the contracting parties headed towards a dispute, Taylor Wessing wanted advice from a firm in Atlanta, Georgia. He reached out to Miller & Martin’s Tom Harrold, a former president and founding member of the World Law Group. Mr. Wethmar of Taylor Wessing and Billy Eiselstein of Miller & Martin led teams of lawyers from their respective firms in that adversarial matter.
That was fifteen years ago, in the spring of 2005. Since then, Taylor Wessing and Miller & Martin have worked together on numerous projects for the German client, including litigation in Georgia and South Carolina, addressing governance matters and drafting related documents for the client’s U.S. subsidiary and most recently a strategic investment in a medical instrument supplier in Savannah, Georgia.
In February 2019, Mr. Wethmar contacted Joe DeLisle of Miller & Martin regarding this recent transaction. The transaction closed on December 19, 2019. Mr. Wethmar and DeLisle led lawyers from their respective teams in representing the German client making a substantial minority investment in the target as well as entering into a strategic supply agreement.
The lead contact with the German client commented on his experience to say:
“[Y]ou have been very supportive, helpful and patient (explaining legal stuff to the Germans). We really appreciated working with you. Always on time. Always well prepared. Thanks as well for making yourself available even when travelling overseas not to mention answering emails at 5:00 a.m. EST or even when being sick. Great job, very professional. Thanks as well to Robert for getting this through the door with our board. Fantastic international co-work!”
Both firms have worked seamlessly for nearly 15 years to serve this German client’s cross border needs for legal services.