Steven G. Kobre, co-founder of the firm, is an experienced litigator who has served as lead counsel in numerous government enforcement defense matters and high-value financial arbitrations and litigations. He has represented clients in front of government regulators including various departments of the U.S. Department of Justice (both the Antitrust and Criminal Divisions, including the Fraud Section and Health Care Fraud Unit), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York County District Attorney's Office and the New York State Attorney General. Mr. Kobre focuses on complex civil litigation, particularly disputes among commercial entities, Fortune 500 companies and other large institutions. 

Mr. Kobre is repeatedly recognized in leading industry publications. Chambers & Partners acknowledged his experience in a range of white-collar investigation and civil litigation matters and clients praised him for being "unruffled under pressure," "brilliant at keeping the big picture in mind" and "really at the top of the field."

Before establishing Kobre & Kim, Mr. Kobre served as a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice (as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York). Prior to that, Mr. Kobre worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office.

Michael S. Kim, co-founder of the firm, serves as lead counsel in high-stakes disputes and investigations.

Recognized by Chambers & Partners as “an extraordinary attorney with great trial and legal skills who knows how to give clients what they want,” Mr. Kim is a well-known advocate and strategist in complex disputes and investigations, particularly those involving international regulatory proceedings. Client reports in Benchmark Litigation describe him as “a brilliant strategist and creative thinker” and “an exceptional leader, especially in cases involving multi-jurisdictional issues" who "coordinated legal proceedings in three or four jurisdictions all working together to achieve our objective.”

Mr. Kim’s focus lies at the intersection of fraud and insolvency in situations involving government investigations and asset forfeiture/confiscation, recovery of hidden assets and bankruptcy, often in simultaneous legal proceedings in multiple countries. He has served as lead counsel in some of the most significant matters in these specialized areas of law.

In the area of government investigations and asset forfeiture/confiscation, Mr. Kim has been recognized as one of the most highly regarded individuals in international business crime defense by the publishers of the Global Competition Review (UK), which noted his “extraordinary advisory and trial skills.” Mr. Kim was also recognized by the publishers of Benchmark Litigation, highlighting his work in global financial disputes and criminal investigations. He has served as an expert witness on international government and regulatory enforcement issues in the courts of England, Switzerland and Italy.

In the areas of insolvency and judgment enforcement, Mr. Kim has been ranked as one of the top lawyers in the world by the publishers of the Global Arbitration Review. He has served as an expert witness on U.S. debtor-creditor laws in the courts of the Cayman Islands and is co-author of the book Debtor-Creditor Fraud (Thomson West).

Prior to establishing Kobre & Kim, he served as a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice (as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (DOJ-SEC-CFTC Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force)). While serving in that capacity, Mr. Kim focused on white-collar criminal cases involving hedge funds, securities and commodity futures fraud, many of which involved international asset tracing and forfeiture.

Earlier in his legal career, Mr. Kim practiced at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York.

Before his legal career, Mr. Kim served as a U.S. Army infantry officer.

As the firm's Chief Strategy Officer, Gary I. Singer is responsible for setting and executing Kobre & Kim's business-building initiatives. Mr. Singer leads Strategy, Business Development, Marketing & Communications and Knowledge Management with the overall goal of making the firm more effective, scalable and profitable.

Mr. Singer and his team provide strategic direction to the firm’s business, including developing and implementing strategies at the firmwide, product, regional and individual lawyer levels. Additionally, Mr. Singer’s team helps drive global product development and training, lawyer alignment and client experience.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Singer served as a partner and Chief Marketing Officer at global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. Mr. Singer also founded and served as CEO of Buyology Inc. and Redline Results LLC. Prior to these entrepreneurial ventures, Mr. Singer was Chief Strategy Officer at Interbrand, a partner at McKinsey & Company, Managing Director of D'Arcy and Senior Vice President, head of the Kraft Foods business at Leo Burnett.

Mr. Singer received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his BS from Carnegie Mellon University and is an Adjunct Professor of Business at Columbia University in the City of New York Business School.

Edward Bibko is the Global General Counsel at Kobre & Kim. As the firm’s principal legal and ethical counsel, Mr. Bibko is responsible for advising the firm on the commercial and legal risks and implications of various professional and operational management issues, from contracts and obligations to firm structure and policies. Mr. Bibko also works with attorneys and firm leadership to help mitigate risk upon consideration of new matters as well as throughout the course of engagements, playing a key role in maintaining the firm's unique conflict-free profile.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Bibko was the General Counsel of EMEA and Asia at Jefferies International Limited. Prior to that, he was the European head of capital markets at Baker & McKenzie. Mr. Bibko is U.S. and UK-qualified, and has advised on corporate transactions for more than 25 years. 

Meichael Friedman is deputy executive officer of Quality Assessment and Improvement/executive director of global emerging fraud cases, and principal attorney and head of global legal services.

In this role, Mr. Friedman identifies, measures and enhances quality improvements across all aspects of the firm focusing on compliance with, and operation of, internal best practices and other key procedures and controls. He also provides leadership over all global legal services including: Legal Staffing & Utilization; International Lawyers Program; Pro Bono Program; Analyst & Specialist Program; Litigation Assistant Program; Managing Attorney Office Services: E-Discovery & Trial Support, Attorney Admissions, Calendar Control, Court Filings; as well as Legal Project Management, Business Analysis and Records Management.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Friedman served as the managing attorney, special counsel and senior law firm management at various leading firms, including Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP. Michael holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School and attained his undergraduate degree from Hunter College. He is admitted in New York and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Sean Buckley, a former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor, is a trial and investigations lawyer who defends clients in white-collar criminal matters, international government enforcement actions, and intellectual property litigation. Mr. Buckley serves as counsel in cross-border investigations, often involving allegations of bribery or U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, antitrust matters or money laundering, and also has experience with enforcement actions alleging spoofing, market manipulation and other illicit trading practices in the commodity futures space. With an extensive background in national security law, Mr. Buckley also advocates for clients affected by sanctions issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and handles other issues relating to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Buckley served as a DOJ prosecutor, most recently as co-chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing complex international and cross-border investigations relating to international terrorism and terrorism financing across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as economic espionage, U.S. sanctions and violations of anti-money laundering laws. Specifically, he handled various matters related to economic sanctions regimes involving the countries of Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran, among others. As a DOJ prosecutor, Mr. Buckley served as lead counsel in some of the United States Attorney’s Office’s most high-profile trials and handled a wide range of cases including those involving securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime, national security and extradition.

Earlier in his career, he practiced at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he conducted internal investigations and represented corporate clients in trial and appellate courts in antitrust, patent and commercial litigations.

Rajesh Ankalkoti is the Chief Financial Officer at Kobre & Kim, responsible for managing all of the firm’s financial operations. He focuses on managing and strengthening the core financial operations, revenue and profitability enhancement and performance improvement. He also supports the firm’s global geographic expansion. 

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Ankalkoti was the CFO of the Emerging Devices business at Amazon. He has had extensive professional services experience with Andersen, Deloitte and Alvarez & Marsal, where he advised companies in various business and financial situations including M&A, restructuring, performance improvement, investigations and interim management. Mr. Ankalkoti also served as an interim CFO/COO to various start-up, early stage and growth companies.  

Mr. Ankalkoti earned his MBA at Columbia Business School. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Accountant in India.

As a senior leader within the firm’s Strategy Group, Aidan Bolger works with both lawyers and clients to drive forward the firm’s strategic priorities. On a day-to-day basis, he is responsible for leading strategy formulation, product development and business development.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Bolger was at Freshfields and Clifford Chance in London working in business development roles, primarily related to financial institutions. Before that, he practiced as a lawyer in New Zealand for several years.

Mr. Bolger studied law and finance at the University of Otago.

As Assistant General Counsel of Kobre & Kim, Richard Curtis plays a key leadership role in providing legal and ethical counsel to the firm. Mr. Curtis works with attorneys and firm leadership to help mitigate risk upon consideration of new matters as well as throughout the course of engagements, playing a key role in maintaining the firm's unique conflict-free profile.

Mr. Curtis qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in 2002 and has over 15 years’ experience in the field of law firm management, regulation, compliance and professional responsibility in addition to 6 years’ experience as a fee-earner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges where he advised clients on complex high-value fraud/RICO and money laundering disputes. He has held senior management and director-level roles in internal advisory and compliance functions at well-known international firms.

Anisa Dëma is the Senior Director of Global Legal Services at Kobre & Kim. With 15 years of experience overseeing business operations and projects, Ms. Dëma leads the Global Legal Services Department and oversees management and strategic operations of all its teams, including: Legal Staffing & Utilization; International Lawyers Program; Pro Bono Program; Analyst & Specialist Program; Litigation Assistant Program; Managing Attorney Office Services: E-Discovery & Trial Support, Attorney Admissions, Calendar Control, Court Filings; as well as Legal Project Management, Business Analysis and Records Management. 

Ms. Dëma plays a critical role in overseeing the firm’s productivity, including management and deployment of the firm’s legal resources to effectively address clients’ needs. She also leads integrated special projects across several firm departments, including legal and business professional teams. 

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Ms. Dëma worked as a senior accountant at the Birthright Israel Foundation. She received her BA from Indiana University and is a recipient of the Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing.

Alan E. Guy is the Managing Director for Underwriting and Value Optimization and is based in the New York office. Mr. Guy has experience underwriting, negotiating, and managing litigation finance and alternative fee arrangements, developing strategic partnerships, and practicing as a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP. He also clerked for the Honorable James R. Spencer in the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Guy was a Managing Director at Vannin Capital, where he helped to launch the US office of the global litigation funder.

Mr. Guy earned his JD at Northwestern University and his BA at NYU.

In his role as Managing Director for Underwriting and Value Optimization, Mr. Guy focuses on the firm's business development and does not provide legal advice or services.

As the Director of Channel Development, Peter Mewse is responsible for several of the firm’s commercial programs including third-party distribution, relationship management and referral management. Mr. Mewse leads a global team designed to advance the firm’s business development efforts through commercial collaboration with a focus on finding and cultivating high-value relationships in untapped markets.

Mr. Mewse has substantial experience developing complex commercial propositions, managing client relationships and negotiating global agreements across a wide range of sectors and geographies, having held corporate sales and commercial roles at multinational telecoms and IT conglomerate Vodafone Global Enterprise.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Mewse spent two years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was responsible for driving commercial optimization initiatives, primarily within the financial institutions sector.

As the Managing Director, Global Operations and Procurement, Will Morris is responsible for planning, directing and overseeing all operations – including opening new locations, travel and duty of care, client relations, reporting, cost controls via P2P oversight and budgeting/forecasting for all Kobre & Kim office locations. He has extensive experience in resolving operational issues to maintain positive ongoing professional relationships with vendors, clients and stakeholders.

Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Morris served as director of operations and business development at a specialized real estate development company. He received his MBA in Business and Financial Operations Management from the University of North Carolina, and his BS from University of Phoenix.

Brian B. Murphy is the Associate General Counsel at Kobre & Kim, where he leads the firm's Legal Department. Mr. Murphy works with attorneys and firm leadership to help mitigate risk upon consideration of new matters as well as throughout the course of engagements, playing a key role in maintaining the firm's unique conflict-free profile.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Murphy worked in the conflicts department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He received his JD from the University of Miami School of Law and his BA from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Lou Petreski is the firm’s Global Information Technology Officer, responsible for developing and executing coordinated IT strategies across the firm's different business units and regions, creating a digital work environment that is seamless, effective, and secure. He has experience in industries such as banking, consumer finance and corporate trade.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Petreski held various positions including Director, Head of Change and Strategy Execution for Barclays, Cards & Payments; Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Active International; and Chief Information Officer at GE Capital Bank. He has led IT organizations consisting of up to 230 team members and managed budgets of up to US $120 million per year.

Mr. Petreski earned his BBA in management information systems from Pace University.

As the Managing Director of Business Development, Melissa Seitter is responsible for driving the firm's strategic priorities for several of the firm's business units. Ms. Seitter leads the entire lifecycle of business development activity for these products, from demand creation and potential new matters to client experience and relationship cultivation.

Ms. Seitter and her team provide day-to-day direction to the firm’s business development activity at the group product level, including driving individual lawyer business development efforts, assessing incoming potential new matters, and assisting with matter conversion. In addition, she is responsible for several of the firm's special initiatives, including Trial Advocacy, Geographic Expansion, Substantive Product Innovation and various other efforts.

Ms. Seitter joined Kobre & Kim in 2008 after working at West Point's Center for Enhanced Performance. During her time at the firm, she has concurrently served in various positions in the New York Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, and is the co-founder of the Business Development Special Interest Group. She received her BA from Marist College and received an advanced professional certificate in marketing from New York University.

Leonardo A. F. Palhares currently serves as Managing Director of Kobre & Kim's Latin America region, where he is responsible for the firm's business development, business strategy, and product development and operations in the region. Mr. Palhares leads Kobre & Kim’s Latin America team in São Paulo, providing high-end legal services to regional corporate and private clients involved in cross-border legal disputes.

Mr. Palhares has more than 20 years of experience in law-related practices in the areas of technology, real estate, corporate, intellectual property and public/environmental law. Mr. Palhares was named one of the "Ten Most Respected Brazilian Lawyers" in the latest annual Brazilian legal rankings released by "Análise 500"

Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Palhares was a partner at Almeida Advogados, where he was responsible for legal matters related to infrastructure, technology, real estate, environment, mining, intellectual property and energy.

Mr. Palhares holds bachelor's and master's degrees in law and is fluent in Portuguese, French and English.

Jian Wu is the Regional Managing Director for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. He is responsible for the firm’s business development and strategy and its product development and operations with the APAC region, in coordination with the firm’s resources around the globe.

Throughout his career, Mr. Wu has acted in a wide range of complex China-related disputes involving governments, state-owned enterprises, multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) including litigations in Hong Kong, the United States, the United Kingdom and other offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, as well as arbitrations under the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He helps clients tailor, design, develop and implement global strategies across multiple jurisdictions for enforcement of high-stakes judgments and awards.  

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Wu practiced at Paul Hastings, focusing on sensitive investigations and compliance reviews. Prior to that, he practiced at Mayer Brown JSM in Beijing, China and Hong Kong, where he represented Chinese enterprises in overseas court proceedings and advised foreign enterprises in litigation, bankruptcy and investigation matters that have a connection with China.

Sergio de Aguiar represents clients on matters involving complex cross-border disputes and investigations related to insolvency, civil fraud, corporate restructuring, and asset recovery. He also advises multinational corporations, investors and individuals on the monetization of financial instruments, judgments and arbitral awards.

Sergio is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in the British Virgin Islands. He is also a Foreign Legal Consultant in Brazil.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Aguiar practiced at Watson, Farley & Williams LLP in London, and Shearman & Sterling LLP in London and Paris, where he represented a wide range of clients in disputes before the English courts and international arbitrations. Prior to that, he was in-house counsel at Construtora Andrade Gutierrez S/A and practiced in the litigation group of Tozzini Freire Advogados in São Paulo.

Robin Baik focuses his practice on international judgment enforcement and asset recovery matters, including those relating to insolvency proceedings and involving fraudulent schemes to hide and embezzle misappropriated assets. His experience in this area includes representing clients such as sovereign entities, energy and technology companies and financial institutions.

Mr. Baik also has experience in white-collar criminal defense and regulatory enforcement matters, with a particular focus on representing Korean and other Asia-based corporations and individuals in cross-border disputes. He regularly advises clients facing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Conduct Authority with regards to corruption/the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, forex and tax violations, among others.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Baik practiced at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he focused on U.S. bankruptcy proceedings and U.S. federal tax issues for various U.S.- and Korea-based clients.