Cross-Border Counsel · Capital Markets

One counsel, every jurisdiction your transaction touches.

Andy Altahawi is an international attorney with four decades in cross-border law and the U.S. capital markets. His practice coordinates transactions that cross oceans — co-counseling with U.S.-admitted, European, and other cross-border attorneys on capital markets and legal matters — and advises companies entering the American public markets through direct exchange listings on NASDAQ and NYSE.

Since 1986International legal practice across jurisdictions
Co-CounselU.S., European & cross-border admitted attorneys
NYSE + NASDAQDirect exchange listing advisory
Full DisclosureComplete regulatory record, published
The Co-Counsel Model

How a cross-border matter is actually run

No single lawyer is admitted everywhere a modern transaction reaches. The discipline that works is coordinated co-counsel: one counsel who understands the whole transaction, working alongside admitted attorneys in each jurisdiction it touches. Mr. Altahawi has run matters this way since 1986 — as the coordinating counsel who structures the deal, and as co-counsel to U.S., European, Middle Eastern, and Asian firms whose clients cross into other markets.

United States

Securities offerings, exchange listings, and U.S. corporate matters — always in co-counsel with U.S.-admitted securities attorneys, who provide the U.S. legal advice and opinions.

United Kingdom & Europe

Co-counsel relationships with European capital markets and corporate firms — cross-listings, holding structures, market entry, and European issuers approaching the U.S. exchanges.

Middle East & North Africa

A legal practice rooted in the region since 1986 — corporate structuring, commercial arbitration, and governance counsel for family groups and companies expanding westward.

Asia-Pacific & Beyond

Coordination with local counsel for Asian and other international issuers seeking U.S. market access — one team, one timetable, admitted advice in every seat.

Practice Areas

What the practice covers

I.

Cross-Border Capital Markets

Foreign issuers entering the U.S. public markets, and U.S. companies raising abroad — structure, disclosure coordination, and admitted co-counsel in every jurisdiction the offering touches.

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II.

Direct Exchange Listings

NASDAQ and NYSE listings without a traditional underwritten IPO — market-set pricing, no lock-up, no underwriting discount. Listing readiness through the first day of trading.

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III.

Regulation A+ & Offerings

Tier 2 Regulation A+ "mini-IPO" offerings up to $75 million, S-1 registrations, Regulation D private placements, and Regulation S offshore tracks — fitted to the capital plan.

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IV.

Corporate Structuring

Holding companies, redomiciliations, and governance alignment for groups operating across borders — built so that the structure survives regulators, auditors, and exchanges.

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V.

International Arbitration

Commercial arbitration and dispute counsel in cross-border matters — contract disputes, shareholder matters, and enforcement questions spanning legal systems.

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VI.

Co-Counsel to Law Firms

U.S., European, and international firms engage Mr. Altahawi as co-counsel when a client's transaction crosses into markets he knows — capital markets structure, MENA matters, and U.S. listing strategy.

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The Direct Exchange Concept

Going public without an IPO

A direct exchange listing takes a company onto a national exchange by registering existing shares for public trading — the market sets the price, existing shareholders gain liquidity, and the company avoids underwriting discounts and dilution. For cross-border issuers, it is frequently the decisive path into the U.S. markets, and it follows three disciplined phases.

Phase I

Prepare

Corporate housekeeping, audited financials, governance build-out, and the disclosure document — a Regulation A+ Form 1-A or an S-1 registration statement — prepared and filed with the SEC.

Phase II

Qualify

Meeting the exchange's quantitative and governance standards: shareholder counts, public float, market value, and share price, coordinated with the SEC review process through qualification or effectiveness.

Phase III

List

Exchange application, listing approval, and the first day of trading — with the opening price discovered by the market itself, not fixed by an underwriting syndicate the night before.

How Direct Listings Work

Transparency

The complete record, from the primary sources

“Anyone evaluating an advisor should be able to see the complete record, from the primary sources, in one place.”

Throughout its operation as a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, Adamson Brothers was never the subject of a customer complaint or a regulatory citation from FINRA or the NASD — a clean record across a decade of multi-office trading, market making, and corporate finance. Mr. Altahawi's own registered career from 1994 was likewise free of customer complaints.

Mr. Altahawi publishes his full four-decade career record — including a complete, factual account of the one regulatory matter in his career, the 2018–2019 SEC Longfin matter, resolved by consent without admitting or denying the allegations — together with his own statement on it.

Record & Regulatory History   Read his statement on the Longfin matter →   View the gallery →

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A matter that crosses borders?

Consultations are confidential and without obligation — by email, WhatsApp, or the contact form. Law firms seeking co-counsel are equally welcome.