Natalie Shkolnik represents domestic and international companies in complex litigation. She excels at helping foreign entities understand the intricacies of U.S. litigation rules, including interpreting the differences in discovery and attorney-client privilege. Her extensive background in complex commercial litigation and securities litigation encompasses class-action cases, governmental and regulatory investigations, and arbitrations. Fluent in both Russian and English, Natalie serves a diverse international client base, with a specific emphasis on Russia, Ukraine, and Latin America.

Natalie is deeply experienced in the area of complex, large-scale enforcement of international judgments, notably in cases arising from defaults on distressed debt. Her portfolio includes over a dozen successful judgment enforcement cases across Europe and Asia, covering jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Her clients include public and private corporations as well as hedge funds, large institutional banks, and high-profile individuals.

High-net-worth individuals residing outside of the U.S. seek her out for representation and guidance in their business and personal matters. Collaborating closely with lawyers from the firm’s various practice groups, Natalie aids her non-U.S. clients in navigating the issues and complexities of U.S. law and serves as liaison counsel for matters spanning general corporate issues, real estate transactions, litigation, judgment enforcement, banking and finance, tax, trusts and estates, and dispute resolution.

Beyond her litigation prowess, Natalie is an authority in advising clients on cybersecurity issues, ensuring compliance with state and federal laws. In the event of a cyberattack, she assists clients throughout the response and remediation process, interfacing with law enforcement and forensic experts and leveraging her understanding of both technical and business aspects to provide tailored advice based on each client’s specific risk profile.

Natalie is an accomplished litigator and mediator in federal and state courts across several jurisdictions, including New York, New Jersey, Washington, New Hampshire, Florida, Georgia, and California. Her experience extends to domestic and international arbitrations, representing clients in such forums as FINRA and the London Court of International Arbitration. Additionally, she has successfully navigated clients through investigation by regulatory bodies such as the SEC, the Attorney General of the State of New York, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, securing numerous favorable resolutions.

In the realm of e-discovery, Natalie's vast experience ensures the effective management of clients' records before and after litigation, avoiding financial and administrative penalties. She collaborates directly with clients' technical personnel to coordinate the capture and retention of electronic and other data, addressing complex and demanding discovery requests in court, governmental, and regulatory proceedings.

• On behalf of Royal Bank of Canada, successfully dismissed a special proceeding that alleged the bank acted in contempt of court by failing to comply with a restraining notice concerning the judgment debtor’s bank account. The resulting decision, which holds that the service of the restraining notice on RBC’s Manhattan branch was not sufficient to bind RBC’s Toronto branch to freeze the judgment debtor’s accounts or turn over its assets, confirmed the viability of the "separate entity rule" in New York.
• Successfully argued, before both trial and appellate courts, for dismissal of a nine-count complaint seeking millions of dollars in damages for the alleged breach of a partnership operating agreement. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the suit by holding that the plaintiff’s separation agreement barred the claims asserted against the defendant.
• Represented a South American energy company in an action in New York State court seeking, among other things, a declaration that the bonds issued by the company had expired. Facilitated the company’s successful opposition to the motion to dismiss the action at the trial court level, subsequently affirmed by the appellate court. The successful opposition to the motion to dismiss allowed the company to continue litigating its claim in the trial court.
• In a landmark case, won an Appellate Division affirmance of an order directing judgment debtors based in Indonesia and the Netherlands to turn over assets wherever such assets were located. The oft-cited Gryphon decision has become a cornerstone of judgment enforcement litigation. Gryphon Domestic VI, LCC v. APP Int’l Finance Co., B.V., 41 A.D.3d 25, 836 N.Y.S.2d 4 (1st Dep’t 2007).
• Successfully obtained a multimillion-dollar award from the London Court of International Arbitration on behalf of an investment banking client. The arbitration panel found that the issuer was liable to the bank for a breach of a placement agent engagement agreement. Worked with a United Kingdom barrister as local counsel throughout the international arbitration proceedings.
• Secured a favorable settlement on behalf of a public U.S. biotechnology company in a multimillion-dollar federal action, where more than a dozen hedge fund investors alleged that the company had violated provisions of the securities purchase agreement centering on various anti-dilution and right-of-participation provisions.
• On behalf of a major financial institution, in its capacity as an indenture trustee, coordinated and instituted a global judgment enforcement strategy seeking to satisfy a judgment exceeding one billion dollars. The global enforcement strategy included instituting numerous proceedings in both the U.S. and Hong Kong.
• Successfully negotiated a complex settlement agreement on behalf of a judgment creditor, with judgment debtors seeking bankruptcy protection under pressure from our multipronged enforcement of a multimillion-dollar federal court judgment. The agreement included terms, among others, providing for the payment of funds owing to judgment creditor, as well as the dismissal of bankruptcy proceedings, waiver of dischargeability of the debt owed to judgment creditor, and waiver of the automatic stay, as to judgment creditor’s claims, in future bankruptcies.