Working backward from enforcement
In an international dispute, a favorable decision is worth what can be collected. Arbitral awards benefit from the New York Convention, which most trading nations have joined, so an award can generally be enforced where the counterparty holds assets. Court judgments travel less easily, because the United States has not joined a broad treaty in force on recognizing judgments, and foreign courts apply their own rules; Korean courts, for example, consider reciprocity among other things. That does not make litigation the wrong choice. It means the place of suit should be chosen with the counterparty's assets in mind.
The full range of options
Negotiation and mediation remain useful across borders, and expectations about how negotiations proceed can differ by country and affect the tone and timing of an approach. Mediation can be held online or in a neutral location, and a settlement can sometimes be made easier to enforce, for instance by recording it as a consent award where an arbitration is already underway. Arbitration offers neutrality and enforceability, while litigation may be faster in some courts and offers tools such as injunctions against a party within the court's reach. Disputes involving government measures or trade remedies follow procedures of their own. Gather the contract, its governing-law and forum clauses, and the correspondence before deciding.
Planning with you
In a first consultation we look at the contract, the parties' locations, and the assets you would ultimately need to reach. We discuss which forums are available, what each would cost in time and money, and where coordination with counsel in another country will be needed. Language matters as well, since documents and witnesses in Korean or another language need careful translation, and that affects both budget and strategy. We are candid about the uncertainties, including how foreign courts or tribunals may approach questions no one can predict with confidence. The aim is a strategy you can follow from the first letter through enforcement.
