US Practice

The founding members of KCL Law’s US Practice, David Weinberger and Roger Rothfield, were born and educated in America before making Australia their home. This background makes them experts in navigating the often-subtle differences between the Australian and American cultures and legal systems, placing them ideally to guide clients though all types of Australian/US cross border transactions.

We offer a range of services to individuals and organisations including commercial, property / intellectual property and dispute resolution matters, as well as providing advice on immigration and estate planning.

Principal lawyer David Weinberger, is a New Yorker who began his career in a boutique insurance law firm in New York City before moving to Melbourne in 2002. He is a graduate of Emory Law School where he studied international law, and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from George Washington University. He was admitted to practice law in Georgia in 1995 and in New York in 1996. He was admitted to practice in the State of Victoria in 2003.

David is the Head of our firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice and he maintains strong ties to America through personal connections. David is Co-Chair of the Australian Chapter of the New York State Bar Association. His experience includes successfully acting for the US Government in a case that went to the High Court of Australia in a landmark decision on sovereign immunity.

Special Counsel Roger Rothfield studied at an undergraduate level at Duke University in North Carolina USA before undertaking his legal studies at Monash University in Melbourne. Roger’s experience in cross boarder Australia – USA transactions commenced in the 1980’s when he assisted a variety of entertainment clients both resident in the USA as well as Australian entertainment companies and artists seeking to undertake a range of matters in the USA market place.

Over the last 20 years the emphasis of Roger’s practice has substantially focused on merger and acquisition transactions again involving a cross flow of deals as between the Australian and USA market places. Roger is often called upon to assist USA clients in undertaking transactions in Australia for the first time and similarly he continues to assist Australian companies looking to expand their operations into the complex USA commercial environment.

Working with David and Roger, we have a curated team of subject matter legal experts, with experience in the Australian/American market.

Daniel Kovacs is a Principal Lawyer and registered Trade Marks Attorney specialising in intellectual property. He has strong working relationships with trademark lawyers in the US allowing him to deliver strategic advice to clients operating in the Australian/American market.

Senior Associate Joel Benjamin provides advice on estate planning, family trusts and asset protection strategies to both Australian clients with interests in the US, and US clients with Australian assets. Joel’s experience in dealing with the complex issues of estate taxes, trust rules and equities disposal gives him a unique understating of the challenges of international estate planning. Joel also has a strong network of US counterparts to refer to as appropriate, ensuring the legal requirements of each jurisdiction are met.

Emma Nguen is a lawyer in our Dispute Resolution team with unique experience in immigration and visa matters. Emma provides advice to American Australians on migration pathways, and advice to Australians on working in the US on E3 visa applications.

Increasingly, companies, entrepreneurs and business executives doing business across the Pacific seek out the commercial, litigation, estate planning, immigration and intellectual property expertise from members of our US Practice.

Our US Practice Group team members provide excellent levels of personal service, backed by solid understanding possible traps for the unwary which can impact international transactions and disputes.

We have the ability to handle a full spectrum of commercial, litigation, estate and immigration cases.

Our personal service, cultural US knowledge, and ‘on the ground’ connections place KCL as the ideal advisors on all Australian/US legal matters.