DWT Pacific Services

ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE

There is rising economic activity throughout the Pacific, but perhaps the biggest opportunity can be found in Guam, where there will be a major infrastructure buildup over the next decade as the U.S. military relocates there from Okinawa.

DWT Pacific attorneys have represented general contractors, specialty subcontractors, public and private owners, and design professionals in a wide range of construction projects and government contracts. In addition to our work with airports, we have advised clients on a multi-billion dollar regional light rail project and on hundreds of millions of dollars in road and bridge construction projects and wastewater treatment facilities. Other projects we have handled include energy, telecommunications and manufacturing facilities; ship building and repair; government buildings; and high-rise office and residential buildings.

In addition, our attorneys work regularly with federal regulations relating to construction and engineering. Working with their colleagues in the areas of finance, real estate, environmental law and government relations, they can handle all aspects of a project from conception to completion.

ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES

The Pacific offers a wealth of natural resources, including gas, petroleum, nickel and gold. With our combined experience in this sector, DWT Pacific can help your company expand its reach into new markets, developed and undeveloped.

Our recent work includes the sale and purchase of numerous downstream oil businesses, and conducting due diligence inquiries for an oil processing company in four Pacific jurisdictions.

We have also helped companies acquire mining interests in Vanuatu and Fiji, and have worked with clients including drilling contractors, oil and gas producers, renewable energy companies and financiers to all of these.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Companies investing in this sector face a complex and changing regulatory environment. Pacific governments have amended telecommunications laws in recent years to account for new technology and provide for multiple licenses, and others face challenges to long-term monopoly arrangements.

Moreover, telecommunications companies in U.S. territories are subject to regulation by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. DWT Pacific attorneys are market leaders in providing transactional and regulatory services to telecommunications companies and in advising governments.

Our recent experience includes advising a client on a joint venture regarding acquisition and management of submarine telecommunications cabling to American Samoa, and advising a multinational telecommunications company on the acquisition of mobile-, cable- and Internet-related assets in multiple Pacific jurisdictions.

HOSPITALITY

DWT Pacific represents hospitality businesses of all sizes, from national hotel, restaurant and retail chains to single-unit establishments. We provide strategic, efficient and effective legal services, and are committed to helping hospitality clients grow and protect their businesses.

Our attorneys can help with a wide range of legal matters, from business transactions (including mergers and acquisitions) and IP protection (including trademark, copyright and patent matters and IP litigation) to employment issues, real estate and land use matters.

TRANSPORT & TOURISM

Tourism is an integral part of the economies in the Pacific, and DWT Pacific can help your business succeed in this sector. We have worked with hotel and resort owners, operators and managers, property developers, golf course management companies, and airlines.

We have helped finance and structure hotel acquisitions and provide counsel on integrated resort developments and sales. We have also assisted more than 10 airlines in Asia and the Pacific, including JAL, Air Pacific, Air Do, KAL, China Eastern and Qantas, in aircraft purchasing, financing, selling, leasing and flight crewing arrangements.

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

DWT Pacific helps clients navigate the legal complexities of financial transactions. We offer counsel in project finance, structure and implementation, secured and unsecured lending, syndicated lending, structured finance, consumer finance, property finance, workouts and stamp duty.

We’ve also assisted clients in Internet banking and bank acquisitions, most recently helping ANZ bank in its acquisition of Amerika Samoa Bank in American Samoa, and Citizens Bank in Guam and previously with its acquisition of some of the operations of Bank of Hawaii.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

The attorneys of DWT Pacific have extensive environmental, health and safety experience, both as counselors and litigators.

Our proactive counseling services include obtaining permits, providing guidance in dealing with OSHA inspections and violations, advising clients on water resources and water rights issues, and negotiating transactions involving contaminated properties.

It is our objective to help clients solve problems as quickly and economically as possible, and we often recommend alternative dispute resolution procedures. If litigation cannot be avoided, DWT Pacific represents clients in all aspects of administrative, civil and criminal litigation involving complex environmental matters.

ADMIRALTY & MARITIME

DWT Pacific’s attorneys have handled lawsuits, trials and appeals in the U.S. District Court in Guam, the High Court of American Samoa, and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the FSM.

We have defended owners of fishing vessels seized by the U.S. government, and have counseled clients in ship mortgage foreclosure cases. We have also represented tribal leaders and local residents in a maritime oil spill case on the island of Yap.

CHINA PRACTICE

We help clients invest and operate effectively in China. Davis Wright Tremaine was the first U.S. firm authorized to open an office in Shanghai, and maintains a significant and growing presence in that market, serving major multinational companies.

PLN helps Australian companies set up fully owned subsidiaries in China, obtain permits, and work with joint ventures and acquisitions in the region. One such relevant client includes an Australian company that set up one of the first software development joint ventures in Shanghai.