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Over thirty years of international legal, business and investigative experience in both the public and private sectors, specializing in all aspects of major international business transactions, including project finance, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations, joint ventures, agency and distributor agreements, technology transfer, maritime, finance and investment, and compliance with U.S. and international laws, including anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the British Bribery Act of 2010. He was selected for inclusion on the Thomson Reuters published 2012 New England Super Lawyers list.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
VERRILL DANA LLP Portland, Maine January 2010 - Present
Counsel and continues his broad based international practice with special emphasis on the development of his international anti-corruption practice, and in that regard he has advised clients on all aspects of international anti-corruption law, has made international anti-corruption presentations to various groups, has made an ExecSense Webinar on the same topic, and has had international anti-corruption articles published in legal and business publications.
SHANNON SAKAMOTO LLC Portland, Maine, London and Doha September 2005 – December 2009
Member – Engaged in corporate matters and commercial transactions, with special expertise and experience in international business transactions, including joint ventures, project finance, oil and gas, banking and investment, real estate development and maritime matters in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Lead attorney working on joint ventures, project financing, bank to bank transactions, and compliance with the anti-corruption policies of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development while on secondment to the Bank in London. Also legal consultant to the Law Offices of Gebran Majdalany, Doha, Qatar where he acted as local counsel to Qatari Diar with regard to the Chelsea Barracks acquisition (US$1 billion +), to Qatar Petroleum with regard to the Gulf International Services IPO (approx. US$1 billion), and to Al Waab City WLL with regard to the US$1 billion + Al Waab City real estate development project. He was also responsible for the Qatari part of a world-wide investigation that resulted from FCPA violations by a very large European Industrial complex, and represented major international companies with regard a broad range of other matters.
WHITE & CASE LLC Moscow September 2003 – September 2005
Counsel – Member of the Finance, Energy and Real Estate Practice Groups and member of the team of attorneys representing a consortium of international lenders with regard to the US$12,000,000,000 Sakhalin II oil and gas project. Responsible attorney with regard to project finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distributorships, agency agreements and energy related projects.
EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT London
July 2002 – August 2003
Counsel, Office of the General Counsel – Was the responsible attorney with regard to structuring, negotiating and closing project finance transactions, equity investments, bank to bank transactions, and compliance with the Bank’s anti-corruption policies in Central and Eastern Europe and in other countries of the former Soviet Union, including Russia. Work included co-financing with other international financial institutions such as the IFC. Responsible attorney for financing projects such as residential and commercial real estate developments, manufacturing plants, mining, ship construction, telecom privatization, oil and gas pipelines, transportation and infrastructure.
REGNUM INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, LLC Portland, Maine September 1999 – June 2002
Managing Director - Founder - Responsible for all aspects of a consulting firm which provided a broad range of international legal, business and investigative consulting services. Completed projects included serving as a consultant to the Romanian Privatization Ministry with regard to the privatization of state owned assets in accordance with the World Bank’s anti-corruption policies as part of the World Bank financed program; representing the International Finance Corporation with regard to private enterprise loans in Romania and Bulgaria, and conducting international investigations in support of U.S. litigation.
BRYAN CAVE LLP Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
July 1994 – July1999
Resident Partner, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Engaged in international business transactions on behalf of multi-national corporate and institutional clients. Managed the firm’s Saudi Arabian office and substantially increased the firm’s client base and the range of legal services provided by the office. Represented several very large U.S. defense contractors with regard to FCPA compliance and related investigations. Responsible for the addition of Japanese and other Asian clients, e.g., the Arabian Oil Company, Japan’s largest oil company, and major Japanese trading houses. Represented major international companies regarding joint ventures, agency and distributorship arrangements, technology transfer matters and compliance with local and U.S. law, including investigations and counseling with regard to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
SAUDI ARAMCO & SAUDI ARABIAN MARKETING AND REFINING COMPANY Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 1993 – June 1994
Senior Legal Advisor - Responsible for corporate, business and maritime matters of a multi-billion dollar enterprise, the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC); was the legal representative on the SAMAREC Task Force which was established to facilitate the merger of SAMAREC into Saudi Aramco to form the world’s largest oil company and was in charge of Saudi Aramco’s Jeddah legal department after the merger. Lead in-house attorney in the preparation of a US$2,000,000,000 Gulf War claim submitted to the U.N. Claims Commission.
KELLEY DRYE & WARREN Tokyo, Japan
February 1990 – August 1992
Resident Partner, Tokyo - Established the Tokyo office of a large New York law firm and was engaged in major international business transactions. Represented Japanese financial institutions and other Japanese business entities in major offshore acquisitions and was one of the first U.S. attorneys to do business in the Russian Far East while representing a U.S. oil company with regard to a residual oil recovery project on Sakhalin. Assisted international companies in establishing joint ventures, and agency and distributorship relationships. Responsible for the management and operations of the Tokyo office.
BRAUN, MORIYA, HOASHI & KUBOTA Tokyo, Japan March 1985 – February 1990
Gaikokuho‑Jimu‑Bengoshi - One of the first attorneys to be licensed as a foreign attorney (Gaikokuho‑Jimu‑Bengoshi) in Japan. Represented Japanese financial and business clients with regard to the acquisition and financing of overseas assets and the conduct of their overseas business operations and, represented non-Japanese clients with regard to their business activities in Japan. Conducted maritime casualty investigations on behalf of protection and indemnity clubs. Represented business clients throughout the Far East.
SHANNON AND SAKAMOTO, ATTORNEYS AT LAW, A LAW CORPORATION Honolulu September 1979 – March 1985
President and Director - Engaged in major real estate and transnational business transactions. Represented clients in international business transactions (representational agreements, technology transfer arrangements, joint ventures, contracts and documentation for the sale of turn‑key industrial plants) with extensive negotiating experience in Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia.
DAMON, KEY, CHAR AND BOCKEN Honolulu, Hawaii
October 1971- August 1979
Officer and Director - Engaged in a commercial, admiralty, civil trial and appellate practice, specializing in the construction and financing of hotels, resorts, shopping centers, condominiums and other large real estate development projects (represented the developer of the $250,000,000 Hemmeter Center - Hyatt Regency Hotel project).
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE Washington, D.C., Iceland, Scotland and Northern Ireland August 1961 – August 1968
Military intelligence officer and Special Agent - Responsible for major criminal investigations and counterintelligence and intelligence collection matters. Was the Senior Resident Agent in Iceland and Resident Agent for Scotland and Northern Ireland responsible for all investigations, intelligence and counterintelligence operations. Received a commendation from the U.S. Navy for performance of duties in Scotland.
CITIZENSHIP
U.S.A. and Ireland
EDUCATION
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors
Cornell Law School
Juris Doctor Degree with Specialization in International Affairs
LANGUAGES
German (good conversational and reading skills) and Russian (basic knowledge)
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES/MEMBERSHIPS
Admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Maine.
Also admitted to practice as a foreign attorney in Japan
(Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi), 1988-1992.
American Bar Association; ABA International Law Section
Maine State Bar Association; MSBA International Law Section
Tokyo American Club; Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.
SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS
Represented several very large U.S. defense contractors with regard to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance and related investigations in the Middle East while resident partner of a major U.S. law firm in Saudi Arabia.
While based in London, he was counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and an important part of his work was making sure that the bank’s anti-corruption policies were followed with regard to the bank’s financing projects in Eastern and Central Europe, including Russia.
As a consultant to the Romanian Privatization Ministry in Bucharest as part of a World Bank financed privatization program, he advised the Ministry on conducting the program in accordance with the World Bank’s anti-corruption policies.
As legal consultant to a Qatari law firm in Doha, he was responsible for the Qatari part of a world-wide investigation that resulted from FCPA violations by a very large European industrial complex.
Provided legal advice and assistance as the only non-Saudi member of the task force organized by the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC) to implement the Royal Decree which merged SAMAREC into Saudi Aramco to form the world’s largest oil company.
Engaged in development of legal services in the Russian Far East; met with government and private parties in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Yuzhno Sakhalinsk shortly after Vladivostok was open to foreign businessmen in 1992. Represented an American oil company in negotiations with the Chairman of a Russian state owned company regarding a residual oil recovery project on Sakhalin.
Participated in the representation of a consortium of lenders with regard to the US$ 12 billion Sakhalin II oil and gas project and participated in the structuring of a US$ 5 billion Medium Term Note Program, an offshore offering, on behalf of a major Russian oil company.
Represented a consortium of Japanese financial institutions with regard to financing the purchase of U.S. assets, including the Four Seasons Hotel at Wailea, Hawaii and the Turtle Bay Hilton at Kuilima, Hawaii.
Represented the Japanese owned Arabian Oil Company in negotiations to extend its exploration and development license in the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Conducted maritime casualty investigations, including liability assessment, on behalf of a protection and indemnity clubs, and including an investigation onboard a North Korean freighter that due to a navigational error was grounded high on a reef on a remote Japanese island and was a complete loss.
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