Parker Poe

Promoting German American Commerce

Deutsch

For 40 years, Parker Poe has promoted German American trade and investment through legal counsel, business advice, and personal relationships.

As part of our service to companies specifically based in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, we were the first Carolinas-based law firm with a dedicated international practice group in 1984. Over this 40-year period, Parker Poe has represented hundreds of companies from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Today, we serve our clients from across the globe with their business needs in the United States and elsewhere in the world. We have offices in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. We are a full-service law firm and provide legal services in areas such as:

• Foreign Direct Investment and Entry Into the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Other Countries
• Site Selection and Business Expansion and Location Solutions
• Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Inbound and Outbound Cross-Border Transactions
• Corporate Structuring and Tax
• Employment and Employee Benefits
• Immigration and Visa
• Real Estate and Environmental
• Intellectual Property
• Regulatory and Government
• Risk Management
• Domestic and International Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution
• International Trade and U.S. Customs

Membership in International Organizations
Parker Poe is a long-standing member of the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) and other organizations that support the transatlantic relationship. The GACC South honored our firm with the North Carolina Gateway Award in 2021. The award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of businesses and organizations in support of German American business.

Parker Poe is also a member of two leading international legal networks: TerraLex and the Employment Law Alliance. TerraLex and the ELA have chosen Parker Poe to help guide clients through the challenges of global business.

Personal Connections 
In addition to other Parker Poe lawyers who actively support global business and our clients, the professionals on our German team include:

• Charlotte partner Al Guarnieri has been a member of the leadership team for the GACC’s North Carolina Chapter since its founding almost 20 years ago. He also serves as the director of The American Council on Germany, Charlotte Chapter.
   
• Charleston partner Elizabeth Gibbes serves as honorary consul of Germany for South Carolina and Georgia. Elizabeth is a dual-national of German descent.
   
• Columbia partner Sam Moses served on the GACC South’s board of directors for nearly a decade and continues to serve as a member of the leadership team of the GACC South Carolina Chapter, a role in which he has served for nearly 15 years. Sam served as managing director of the State of South Carolina's European Office, based in Munich, Germany, and was a Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Fellow in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
   
• Parker Poe Consulting principal Sven Gerzer has served on the leadership team of the GACC North Carolina Chapter. Sven grew up and began his economic development career in Munich, Germany. He is bilingual in German and English and has an extensive network in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
   
• Charleston counsel Caroline Frey is a Swiss-American who has extensive experience living, studying, and working overseas, including at the University of Hamburg in Germany.  

Guide to Doing Business in the U.S.
Our firm offers a detailed guide that highlights some of the legal aspects of entering and doing business in the U.S., including a German-language version. To receive that guide and to learn more about how we support German American commerce at the business level, the policy level, and the personal level, please contact the professionals on our German team on the left side of this page.