Practice
Cross-border recognition and enforcement
A foreign court judgment or arbitral award means nothing to a counterparty until it is recognised where that counterparty holds assets. This practice maps the route from a decision you already hold to enforcement against money, property or a shareholding abroad. The first paid step produces a written assessment of whether that route exists on your facts.
When this practice applies
This practice applies once a decision already exists, whether a court judgment, an arbitral award, or a default ruling, and the party who owes money or a stake sits in a different jurisdiction from the one that issued it. It covers a foreign judgment ignored by a debtor with assets abroad, an arbitral award against a platform or fund manager, and a redemption order a counterparty refuses to honour once you have left the jurisdiction where it was made. For the underlying refusal categories this practice sits downstream of, see how refusals are categorised. Where the refusal is still fresh and no formal demand has been made, the demand stage is separate from enforcement.
What the paid first assessment produces
The paid first assessment produces a written analysis of the file. It identifies which recognition regime the decision falls under, what the receiving jurisdiction requires as a condition of admission, and which documents from the original proceeding are missing or defective. It flags where a limitation clock may already be running and where the receiving office has not yet been confirmed. The analysis describes the mechanics of the route available on the facts as they stand. If evidence from the original refusal has not been preserved yet, what to preserve in week one affects what this assessment has to work with.
How the work is scoped
Scope depends on three variables. The first is the jurisdiction that issued the decision. The second is the jurisdiction where enforcement is sought. The third is the type of decision itself, since a court judgment, an arbitral award, and a default ruling can follow different admission routes even between the same two countries. Scope also depends on where the debtor's assets actually sit, which is not always the jurisdiction of incorporation. Work is scoped after the paid assessment, once the applicable regime determines what documents, translations, and procedural steps are needed. Enforcement mechanics generally, including what a qualifying decision looks like, are set out in the enforcement overview.
Where this practice hands over
Once the applicable regime is identified, the file passes to counsel admitted to practise where enforcement is sought. The competent authority is determined by the applicable procedural rule in that jurisdiction; this practice does not name one in advance. The handover happens because recognition procedure is local by nature. Apply the same check to local counsel that you would apply to us, using how to verify a law firm. Other services offered earlier in a dispute are listed at the services overview.
What we do not take on
This practice does not litigate the merits of the original dispute, since that happens before a judgment or award exists. It does not act as a collection agency and does not chase a debtor directly. Whether to keep paying instalments while a redemption stays suspended is a separate question, covered at keep paying instalments while redemption is suspended. Due diligence before an investment is a different service, pre-deal verification. There is no success-fee-only arrangement here, and the entity behind this practice is checked against the public register.