Merrick Watson focuses his practice on civil disputes, insolvency litigation and international judgment enforcement. He advises clients on matters that involve both onshore and offshore jurisdictions, including civil fraud cases, asset recovery and debtor-creditor disputes.

Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Watson practiced at Martin Kenney & Co. Solicitors, where he worked on complex commercial litigation and cross-border insolvency matters.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Watson served as a judicial assistant for High Court Judge His Lordship Justice Ephraim Georges and as Legal Intern at the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal headquartered in Saint Lucia.

Polly Wilkins focuses her practice on representing ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families in both international civil and criminal disputes and investigations involving allegations of fraud and misconduct. She has extensive experience working with international private clients and their advisors to develop cross-border litigation and reputation management strategies aimed at mitigating business and reputational risks involving their global business interests, including in Cyprus and across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, key offshore financial jurisdictions (including the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands) and the Americas.

Ms. Wilkins has been recognized by leading industry organizations and publications. She and Kobre & Kim have been recognized in Legal 500 2023 for Reputation Management, where it is noted that “Kobre & Kim LLP‘s reputation management and defense strategy department boasts an impressive client list of UHNWIs, who trust the team of experienced lawyers to handle cross-border civil and commercial litigation.” Ms. Wilkins was a finalist in the Lawyer of the Year Reputation category at the Spear's Awards 2023, featured in the Spear’s Reputation Management Index 2022, honored as Citywealth’s “2020 Lawyer of the Year – Partner” at their Future Leader Awards and listed in the Private Client Global Elite 2022 directory. Ms. Wilkins is recommended for her experience in “[helping] businesses and successful individuals to understand and deal with the reputational and privacy issues that have the potential to put them in the spotlight,” particularly in matters arising from high-profile cross-border investigations, complex civil and commercial litigation, white-collar crime, asset forfeiture defense and the publication of INTERPOL Red Notices. She is frequently quoted in publications like The Wall Street Journal and invited to speak at external events on issues related to private client litigation and crisis management.

She is particularly accustomed to coordinating legal strategy and working closely with a range of stakeholders including crisis communications and public relations firms, investigators, private family offices and transactional wealth advisors to formulate holistic strategies to preserve reputation and mitigate privacy concerns, as well as defend assets and liberty when clients are engaged in litigation or are the subject of an investigation.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Ms. Wilkins practiced at Schillings and Squire Patton Boggs.

Donna Xu advises a wide array of stakeholders in complex insolvency-related disputes, including in Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 proceedings. In particular, she focuses on distressed situations, bet-the-company proceedings and international judgment enforcement campaigns. She also has extensive experience in multi-jurisdictional internal and regulatory investigations and complex commercial litigation involving financial services and products.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Ms. Xu practiced at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she focused on bankruptcy litigation, white collar enforcement and internal investigations. She has also clerked for the Honorable Michael E. Wiles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Naomi Jeehee Yang represents clients in cross-border civil investigations and litigation, including in matters involving commercial disputes, fraud, antitrust claims, as well as sanctions and anti-money laundering compliance issues. She has extensive experience in handling internal investigations for corporate clients, including major financial institutions, as well as defending them in trial.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Ms. Yang practiced at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She is a native Korean speaker.  

Vincent Yiu represents debtors, creditors and other stakeholders in domestic and cross-border insolvency proceedings, as well as in out-of-court restructurings, insolvency-related disputes and litigation, and other distressed situations. His practice spans a wide range of industries, including retail, food, energy, materials, healthcare and financial services. He has passed the CFA Levels I, II, and III Exams.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Yiu practiced in the business restructuring group at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Daniel Zaheer advises clients in high-stakes litigation with a focus on patent infringement, trade secret and other intellectual property disputes. Recognized by The Daily Journal as among the “Top Trade Secret Lawyers,” he has been lauded for his creative strategic thinking and client-focused lawyering.

Mr. Zaheer’s practice centers on enforcing intellectual property rights and defending against charges of infringement in a variety of industries, including wireless communication systems, mobile device interfaces, biotechnology and mobile applications. He has obtained nine-figure recoveries on behalf of his clients as a part of successful patent enforcement campaigns and also through assertion of trade secrets. In representation of defendants, Mr. Zaheer has achieved positive results on behalf of his clients, having obtained reversal of nine-figure decisions in multiple actions involving allegations of trade secrets theft as well as in other complex commercial disputes. 

Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Zaheer practiced at Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP. Earlier in his career, Mr. Zaheer served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Honorable Raymond C. Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Zaheer also served as deputy city attorney for the City and County of San Francisco and practiced at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP.

Fernando Zanzarini focuses on global asset recovery campaigns, claim monetization, dilution and insolvency matters. He has experience conducting open-source intelligence research to assist in these matters, as well as operating in Latin American legal systems in connection with global criminal and civil disputes and investigations.

Before joining Kobre & Kim in his current role, Mr. Zanzarini was a specialist at the firm. Prior to that, he practiced at Clifford Chance LLP in São Paulo, focusing on corporate finance and capital markets.

Robert Zhou is an experienced litigator who regularly represents institutional and individual clients in complex cross-border matters, including international judgment enforcement and asset recovery, white-collar defense and internal investigations. Mr. Zhou is experienced in handling matters involving national security, including assisting in internal investigations of companies and affiliates located in China regarding potential violations of U.S. export control laws.

Mr. Zhou has also represented major pharmaceutical companies in intellectual property matters including drug patent disputes and relevant litigations. In particular, he has experience in trials over blockbuster medications, biologics and other products.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Zhou was at Covington & Burling LLP’s Palo Alto office. Before that, he was a research assistant at the University of Chicago Law School looking into patent litigation and reform.

Aditya Balakrishnan, under the supervision of the firm's lawyers, provides support on matters involving sanctions.

His recent matters include assisting with the representation of an individual in exploring offensive strategies against sanctions and deploying various reputation management efforts to aid the client's factual and legal defenses.

Mr. Balakrishnan received his BA from New York University.

Lucy Brenner, under the supervision of the firm's lawyers, provides support on matters involving venture and partnership disputes.

Her recent matters include assisting in the representation of corporations pursuing claims in Delaware Chancery Court.

Ms. Brenner received her BA from Columbia University.

Samantha Camacho, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on matters involving government enforcement defense.

Her recent matters include the representation of an individual under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as assisting with the monitorship of a major philanthropic organization. 

Ms. Camacho received her BA from Columbia University. 

Jesse Candel, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides case management support on matters involving intellectual property, international judgment enforcement and government enforcement defense.

His recent matters include assisting in the defense of a client’s trade secret under the California Uniform Trade Secret Act (CUTSA). Mr. Candel's other matters include the defense of a client’s U.S. patents and the defense against claims stemming from a US $35 million judgment.

Mr. Candel received his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Eric Celenti, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on matters involving government enforcement defense, with a focus on financial markets, investigations, monitorships and examinations.

His recent matters include assisting with the firm’s representation of a CEO and founder of an alternative asset management firm in U.S. district court against charges of alleged securities fraud from the DOJ and proceedings brought by the SEC, several state regulatory agencies and multiple investor civil actions.Mr. Celenti also supported the firm’s representation of a high-net-worth businessperson in exploring cross-border factual strategies and legal defenses against sanctions, and the representation of a major sports league in third-party litigations.

Mr. Celenti received his BS from the University of Virginia – McIntire School of Commerce.

Sarah Closser, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on complex special situations disputes, investigations, and monitorships.

Her recent matters include assisting in bankruptcy and liquidation matters, investigations by government agencies including the Department of Education, and federal program implementations.

Ms. Closser received her BA from Columbia University.

Lucy Crerend, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on government enforcement defense matters and high-stakes commercial disputes, particularly those involving allegations of securities fraud.

Her recent matters include assisting in the defense of an individual facing securities fraud charges in proceedings brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Crerend also assisted in the firm’s representation of Twitter, Inc., with respect to its high-profile, expedited Delaware litigation against Elon Musk.

Ms. Crerend received her BA from Columbia University.

Molly Daly, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on matters involving international judgment enforcement.

Her recent matters include assisting with the firm’s representation of ConocoPhillips in the enforcement of a US $1 billion+ International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes judgment and International Chamber of Commerce arbitration awards against the Republic of Venezuela and several of its state-owned entities.

Ms. Daly received her BS from Georgetown University. 

Anna de Bernardi, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides specialized support on matters involving international judgment enforcement and creditor-debtor disputes, with a focus on identifying assets and providing defense and recovery strategies for individuals, companies and sovereign entities.

Recently, Ms. de Bernardi supported the firm’s lawyers in efforts to identify a target’s offshore assets and create a preliminary monetization strategy for the enforcement of a multi-billion-dollar settlement. Additionally, she assisted in global asset tracing investigations to inform strategic advice to clients facing criminal forfeiture.

Ms. de Bernardi received her BA from Princeton University.

Anushka Handa, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides specialized support on matters involving international private clients, with a focus on providing pre-emptive assets and liberty protection strategies and reputation management services for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Ms. Handa’s recent matters include assisting the firm’s lawyers in advising an entity whose ultimate beneficial owner is at risk of political persecution. She helped develop strategies to mitigate risks to their assets across multiple jurisdictions and safeguard their reputation.

Ms. Handa received her LLB from the University of Warwick.

Roni Kapitulnik, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on matters involving national security and sanctions.

Her recent matters include assisting with the representation of an Asia-based business executive in a multijurisdictional investigation involving allegations of fraud, bribery and money laundering, as well as the representation of a prominent businessperson in exploring offensive strategies against sanctions and deploying various reputation management efforts to aid the client's factual and legal defenses.

Ms. Kapitulnik received her BA from George Washington University.

Noam Katz, under the supervision of the firm’s lawyers, provides support on matters involving government enforcement defense, with a focus on those involving allegations of fraud and digital assets. She is certified by Chainalysis in blockchain analytics.

Her recent matters include assisting with the representation of a former officer of a financial technology company in U.S. district court against charges of alleged securities fraud. She has also assisted in representations of companies and trading firms investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Ms. Katz is certified in blockchain analytics, enabling her to leverage digital asset tracing for use in both offensive and defensive actions.

Ms. Katz received her BA from Yale University.