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© 2012 Dorsey & Whitney LLP

  • Yale Law School (J.D., 1969)
  • Yale University (B.A, 1966), magna cum laude
    Honors with Exceptional Distinction in Economics

  • United States: Admitted to practice before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Minnesota, and the Supreme Court of the United States
  • Hong Kong: Admitted to practice as a Solicitor in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

  • French and German

Steven C. Nelson

Partner
Hong Kong, Minneapolis
P: (852) 2105-0211
F: (852) 2524-3000
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Mr. Nelson is a partner and head of the Dorsey Asian offices and is co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific practice group. Engaged in the private practice of international law since 1975.

Practice includes negotiation of and advice concerning international commercial transactions, distribution and licensing agreements, joint venture agreements, and mergers and acquisitions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region; structuring of cross-border investments and multi-national businesses, including United States and foreign tax planning; international litigation and arbitration.

Other Professional Background
  • Member, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Board of Appeals, 1982-2003
  • Adjunct Professor, International Law, University of Minnesota Law Center, 1980-1985
  • Attorney-Adviser and Assistant Legal Adviser, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, 1969-1974

Representative Transactions

  • Advised and represented the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in connection with the recapitalization and auction sale of two Korean investment trust companies.
  • Represented a U.S. supplier of optical and magnetic data storage media products in the acquisition of a multinational group owning the pre-eminent consumer brand for such products.
  • Advised and represented a Hong Kong-based toy manufacturer in the reverse takeover of a NASDAQ-listed U.S. toy distribution company, including its reincorporation as a Hong Kong company.
  • Advised a PRC bank in connection with the acquisition by a private equity fund, in a privatization transaction, of certain shares of the bank held by municipally-controlled holding companies.
  • Represented a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of semiconductor components in the recapitalization of a NASDAQ-listed company in which it is a major shareholder.
  • Advised a Hong Kong-based toy company in connection with a leveraged acquisition of a distressed U.S. toy company.
    Advised a large Norwegian marine coatings company in connection with the restructuring and reincorporation in Hong Kong of its joint venture with a large.
  • PRC state-owned shipping company.
  • Represented a private equity fund in the acquisition from the Japan Deposit Insurance Corporation of the performing assets of a failed Japanese bank.
  • Represented one of the largest privately-owned U.S. companies in the negotiation of a joint venture for the development of oilseed varieties in southern Russia.
  • Represented a major U.S. managed healthcare company in the negotiation of a tax-driven joint venture partnership with the largest South African company and an affiliate for the development of a managed care business in the Republic of South Africa.
  • Represented a U.S. designer and manufacturer of heat recovery systems in the formation of a consortium with a large French engineering firm to bid on gas-turbine power plants in Taiwan and elsewhere.
  • Represented a U.S. manufacturer of specialty chemicals in the acquisition from a large French multinational petroleum company of a global packaging coatings business with operations in Europe, Africa, North and South America and the Asia-Pacific Region.
  • Represented a specialty engineering company in the negotiation of agreements for the design and construction of jet engine test cells in various European, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian countries.
  • Represented a multinational food products company in the acquisition of a large privately-held French baking company.
  • Advised a U.S. manufacturer of industrial filters in the forced buyout of its co-venturer in a jointly-owned company in India.
  • Represented one of the largest U.S. suppliers of goods and services to the banking industry in the negotiation of a Netherlands-based joint venture for the development in India and application in India and the U.S. of software and solutions for bank automation.
  • Represented a U.S. healthcare company in the negotiation of a joint venture with one of the largest U.S. multinational insurance companies for the formation of a managed healthcare joint venture in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines and elsewhere.
  • Represented a publicly-held U.S. company in the tax-structured acquisition of a privately-held Australian manufacturing company.

Representative Arbitrations
  • Represented two major multinational companies in multimillion-dollar arbitrations against the Islamic Republic of Iran and certain of its agencies and instrumentalities.
  • Advised a major multinational company in connection with its defense in a 13-year arbitration in Geneva and Paris, and represented the same company in subsequent enforcement proceedings in the United States.
  • Participated in the defense of a large state-owned enterprise of the People’s Republic of China in an arbitration before the London Metals Exchange involving a “rogue trader."

Presentations

  • “Exit Provisions in Strategic Alliance Agreements,” Negotiating and Drafting Strategic Alliance Agreements, American Conference Institute: New York, November 1996.
  • “Alternatives to Direct Investment in India: Licensing and Distribution,” Doing Business in the New India, American Conference Institute: New York,  December 1995.
  • “Strategic Issues in the Litigation of an International Commercial Dispute,” Litigating and Arbitrating International Commercial Disputes, American Conference Institute:  New York, May 1993.
  • “Administration of the Agreement:  Settlement of Investment Disputes,” Business Implications and Legal Rules for the World’s Largest Common Market: NAFTA, American Conference Institute:  Washington, D.C., December, 1992.
  • “Drafting the Joint Venture Documents:  Key Provisions,” Negotiating and Drafting Transnational Joint Ventures, American Conference Institute:  New York, November 1992.
  • “Dispute Settlement,” Negotiating and Drafting International Commercial Contracts, American Conference Institute:  New York, November 1992.
  • “Negotiating and Drafting Agency, Distribution and Franchise Agreements,” Negotiating and Structuring International Commercial Transactions, ABA National Institute: Chicago, November 1990.
  • “Practicing Law in the Common Market:  The Impact of 1992 on the Legal Profession,” 1992 in Europe:  A Practical and Legal Guide to Doing Business in the Single European Market, ABA National Institute:  New York, June 1990.
  • “International Sales,” Counseling the U.S. Multinational:  Issues and Problems for the 1990’s, ABA National Institute:  New York, January 1989.
  • “Alternative to Litigation of International Disputes,” Resolution of International Commercial Disputes, ABA National Institute:  Miami, November 1987.
  • “Planning for Resolution of Disputes in International Technology Transactions,” Symposium on International Technology Transfer, Federal Bar Association & ABA Section of Public Contracts Law:  Boston, March 1984.

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association (Chair, Section of International Law and Practice, 1988-1989; Member, Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice, 1998-2000)
  • Union Internationale des Avocats (First Vice-President, 1989-1993)
  • International Bar Association (Councilor representing the American Bar Association, 1996-2000; Member 2000-present, and Chair, 2008-present, of WTO Working Group)

Attorney Articles

December 6, 2007
China Drafts First Nationwide Labor Contract Law
October 21, 2004
Globalization and the Legal Profession in the Asia-Pacific Region
November 2003
Silence is Golden: Making Tax Efficient Investments in Japan

News & Press Mentions

March 20, 2008
Local Counsel Key for Asian Market Access