THOMAS C. SIMA

CORPORATE LAW AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS

Thomas C. Sima is a corporate attorney specializing in cross-border transactions.

Sima started his career in the New York and Hong Kong offices of Shearman & Sterling, where Sima worked primarily on matters in international finance, mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance. Sima has 25 years of experience working with international clients, primarily from the former Soviet Union and East Asia, representing clients in a broad range of activities, from oil & gas to investment funds. Sima works with a trusted group of colleagues to ensure that, together, we can provide legal services in all areas of specialization around the globe without sacrificing the unique level of communication that my clients have come to expect. Sima frequently composes legal documents in English and in Russian. He is comfortable reviewing documents in several other languages.

Areas of Expertise

Corporate governance

Sima prepares corporate governance and maintenance documents, including formation documents, resolutions, employment agreements, option agreements, voting agreements, and investor rights agreements. His corporate governance work creates ongoing relationships with corporate clients and enables him to better advise clients on larger transactions.

mergers & acquisitions

Sima has experience with a wide variety of transactions, including asset sales, joint ventures and strategic mergers for a variety of companies, including those in the oil & gas, wood, and telecommunications industries. Sima’s clients are consistently able to achieve their objectives even in complex legal and commercial environments.

bank finance

Sima advises clients on a variety of financings including secured and unsecured loans, syndicated credit agreements, convertible debt, credit facilities and more complicated arrangements. By creating tailored solutions to clients’ needs, Sima can minimize risk when capital is being invested worldwide.

capital markets​

Sima has worked extensively with private placements of securities, option plans, delistings and filings with the SEC. In preparing offering documentation, Sima works with clients to ensure that a maximum of transparency is being provided and seeks to identify problems before they arise.

private equity

Sima has extensive experience in cross-border fund formation and maintenance, including the creation of multi-tiered funds and fund of funds structures. Sima assists clients with analysis of portfolio investment documents and diligence of potential investments.

commercial real estate

Sima is fully familiar with the issues concerning long term building leases, triple net leases, building and development purchases and the financing surrounding the same. Sima has a proven track record of working to move complex transactions forward to assist clients in real estate acquisitions.

taxation

Sima analyzes every matter from the perspective of the tax consequences to the client. By drawing on a wealth of experience in cross-border legal practice, Sima is able to identify potential issues and proposed solutions for a variety of tax issues that arise in structuring international transactions. Sima works with specialists in particular areas of tax law as needed.

oil & gas

Sima has been involved in legal structuring of oil and gas transactions since 2000 and have participated in project finance deals (both upstream and downstream) and acquisitions, particularly in Russia and Kazakhstan. Sima’s experience with the regulatory environment and development of production fields allows Sima to foresee potential issues when proposing new structures for clients.

business litigation​

Sima handles commercial litigation for clients, with experience in Federal and state courts. He regularly collaborates with Snyder on litigation matters.

international focus

Sima has worked for over 20 years with clients from the former Soviet Union, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltic Republics. He has strong contacts in the primary offshore markets and can assist in creating onshore/offshore investment vehicles, offshore asset protection trusts and holding entities for clients.

Admissions

New York State Bar

Florida State Bar

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Education

Duke University, J.D. (cum laude), May 1999

LL.M. in International and Comparative Law, May 1999

Thesis Topic: “Estate Tax Optimization of Offshore Asset Protection Trusts”

Attended the Duke Law School’s Institute of Transnational Law at Hong Kong University, Hong Kong S.A.R., China in Summer 1997

University of North Carolina, A.B. in Russian Language and Literature, May 1996 (Phi Beta Kappa)

Overseas Study: Rostov State University, Rostov-na-Donu, Russia, Summer 1994 and Spring 1995 semesters

Languages

English (native), Russian (fluent), Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish