Kobre & Kim

Kobre & Kim’s Michael Ng and Daniel Zaheer have been named in Daily Journal Corporation’s 2025 Top Intellectual Property Lawyers list. The annual list recognizes California’s top lawyers specializing in patent litigation, trademark and copyright.   Mr. Ng and Mr. Zaheer have been globally recognized for their work as lead counsel in patent and trade secret litigation, including a recent US $604.9 million jury verdict in California on behalf of client Propel Fuels. “Our client opened a new market for renewable diesel in 2004,” Mr. Ng told Daily Journal. “After 13 years working on a potential deal, Phillips terminated negotiations on a Friday and on Monday told regulators they wanted to launch a renewable diesel.” When Propel sued Phillips 66, “[Phillips 66] said they already knew how to do this and anyway, ours is different,” Mr. Ng explained. “The reality is that they hadn’t done it before. Nobody had. We showed the jury exactly that, and they deliberated less than two days.”   “With IP law, you see disputes at the cutting edge of the economy and technology,” Mr. Zaheer shared. “You see where the world is going and Propel is very much an example of that: a solution to climate change by a small company involved in M&A negotiations as the other side seeks access to the technology.”   More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/eb72TWKF

Kobre & Kim has successfully secured the dismissal of the SEC’s lawsuit against Cumberland DRW LLC, marking a significant victory in the evolving regulatory landscape for digital assets. “After six years of investigation and litigation, we are thrilled for our client Cumberland DRW that the SEC dismissed the case against it with prejudice,” said Kobre & Kim’s Jonathan Cogan. “The SEC’s lawsuit against it was unfounded and profoundly unfair. Cumberland can now devote its attention to continuing to be a market leader in the digital asset space.” The Cumberland DRW trial team also included Michael S. Kim, Evelyn Baltodano-Sheehan, Sydney Johnson, Jeremy Bressman, Geoff Derrick, and Brandon Bias. More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/eY75G6hJ

Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Baltodano-Sheehan joined fellow industry experts in the panel “The Cross-Over Between Civil and Criminal Matters: Recovering Assets in Fraud Investigations Where Criminal Enforcement Authorities are Involved” at C5 Geneva. During the session, panelists discussed what can happen to fraudsters and victims when law enforcement is involved. More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/eJi785Sw

Kobre & Kim is proud to support the Government of the British Virgin Islands’ Adopt-A-School program, which aims to uplift the education sector and contribute to the community and the future of its children. Timothy de Swardt and Ritseeniyah Georges-Haughton attended an Appreciation Ceremony alongside the Honorable Sharie DeCastro, Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, where the firm was recognized with an award for sponsoring Enis Adams Primary School.   Read more about the program and the firm’s commitment here: https://lnkd.in/eq9CuUT3

This year’s INSOL International Hong Kong 2025 brought together industry leaders to tackle the pressing challenges in global insolvency and asset recovery, and Kobre & Kim was pleased to contribute to the discussions. Daniel Saval joined an expert panel on "Navigating the challenges confronting practitioners (IPs) when identifying, tracing, and recovering/realizing assets in China," while Ilona Groark, officially received her INSOL Fellow certificate.   Thank you to INSOL International for an excellent conference, and to all the practitioners and industry peers who joined the conversation.   More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/eysdz5Pw

At Nairobi Arbitration Week, Kobre & Kim’s Emily Beirne joined a panel to discuss the strategic considerations in international arbitration, from reputational and commercial risks to geopolitical challenges. Expanding on these insights, John Han and Emily co-authored a white paper with Claire Davidson and Viktor Koleda of DRD Partnership, offering practical guidance on managing legal and enforcement risks in high-stakes disputes. More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/e8TKqaHt

Kobre & Kim’s Vincent Yiu will be speaking at a luncheon hosted by the CFA Society Hong Kong, titled “Unlocking Value from Distressed Credit Through Creative Enforcement Strategies: A Global Perspective.”   Mr. Yiu will discuss traditional legal tools and innovative recovery strategies for distressed credit scenarios, focusing on a U.S. bond default case and strategies to unlock the value of distressed onshore assets for offshore bondholders, as well as mechanisms to maximize recovery from ultra-high-net-worth individuals with global asset footprints.   More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/emMAnzi7

Kobre & Kim’s Emily Beirne will be speaking at Nairobi Arbitration Week on a panel exploring the strategic ecosystem of dispute arbitration and enforcement, covering key reputational, commercial, and geopolitical considerations. Hosted by DRD Partnership, the panel will also feature Claire Davidson, Oliver Stern, and Nikita Bernardi. More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/euxE7Q9u

Kobre & Kim’s Daniel Saval, an INSOL Fellow, will be speaking at the Insolvency Practitioners Group (IPG) Meeting during the upcoming INSOL International Conference in Hong Kong. The session, titled "Navigating the challenges confronting practitioners (IPs) when identifying, tracing and recovering/realizing assets in China," will address ongoing challenges and opportunities such as litigation funding, strategic planning, cross-border coordination, and data access. More after the jump: https://lnkd.in/e5Zqqhzv

Policy change at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not bind courts from analyzing the key question of whether certain crypto transactions are covered by federal securities laws. Kobre & Kim’s Sydney Johnson and Calvin Koo explore how private plaintiffs may take advantage in a piece for CoinDesk. Under the new administration, the SEC has confirmed the end of the regulation-by-enforcement era and taken significant steps to progress its policy goals, including a focus on prosecuting bad actors and fraud in the digital asset space. While this shift has dramatically reduced exposure to regulatory suits by the agency, the industry must prepare for private plaintiffs to exploit the enforcement void. As a result, companies should expect an increase in private litigation, and businesses and their founders re-evaluating their legal risk should confer with their legal teams on whether they may be targets of increased private litigation, so they can create strategies to mitigate such exposure. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eRMsmcDt