Jagler: Attorney provides pragmatic overseas business advice in the age of Trump

Globetrotting attorney Craig Stoehr lived in France during the Clinton administration, in Turkey and Qatar during the second Bush administration, and in Dubai and London during the Obama administration.

So Stoehr is no stranger to the nuances of geopolitics. But now that he has moved back to his hometown of Okauchee Lake, Stoehr acknowledges he has never seen an American president as bombastic and combative as Donald Trump.

Stoehr was recently named partner and chair of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP’s International Transactional Practice Group in Milwaukee.

Among other duties in his new gig, Stoehr’s job is to provide expert, pragmatic legal advice to American corporate clients doing business or thinking about doing business overseas. Good luck with that mission in the age of Trump, when a 3 a.m. tweet or a threat to wipe North Korea off the map can shake up the entire global hierarchy.

“There’s a lot of bombast and rhetoric,” Stoehr said. “I would focus more on what exactly is happening. You can’t ignore it (Trump’s commentary), and you have to prepare for it.”

I asked Stoehr to provide seven considerations Wisconsin companies doing business overseas should focus on in the age of Trump.

1. “If you’re engaged in global business, generally you might want to embrace unpredictability and remember not to get emotional over rhetoric — just like (‘Wall Street’ movie character) Gordon Gekko told you, 'Don’t get emotional about stock,'” Stoehr said.
2. “Don’t panic yet over NAFTA withdrawal. If you’re in the agriculture business (like many in Wisconsin), start lobbying hard for re-engagement with the Trans-Pacific Partnership or more of an administration focus on bilateral trade treaties with various Asia-Pacific countries.”
3. “If you have significant business operations or meaningful sales in Europe, take the time to understand Brexit and its effect on your business. On a micro level, don’t forget about the EU General Data Protection Regulation coming into effect in May 2018.”
4. “Pray for tax reform if you want U.S. companies to become more competitive in a world of increasing globalization, along with greater investments being made in the U.S.” Repatriation of corporate dollars back to the United States would result in “more investments in the U.S. You’re investing in plants and facilities. You’re investing in people,” he said.
5. “Understand how to evaluate and manage global risk. Be prepared for events on the Korean peninsula, terrorism incidents, natural catastrophes, etc.,” he said. Stoehr added he would have to “think long and hard” before advising a Wisconsin company to invest in operations in South Korea.
6. “Remember, the rule of law may shape business transactions everywhere, but it doesn’t mean the same thing overseas as it does in the U.S., so do your due diligence and focus on building personal relationships. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing you can rely upon with some degree of certainty.”
7. “If doing business overseas, embrace the opportunity to enjoy a bit of history, culture, cuisine, etc., while doing the business, but don’t talk U.S. politics or religion at the dinner table,” he said. “Some of you may think the world is falling apart, but when was the last time it wasn’t?”

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Wisconsin recently lost two of its former captains of industry.

Bronson James Haase, former president and CEO of Ameritech Wisconsin and Wisconsin Gas, vice president of WICOR and president of Pabst Farms Equity Ventures, passed away Sept. 12 at age 73.

Donald McNamara, former president of FJA Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc. and the National Roofing Association, passed away Sept. 16 at age 81.

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. C-Level stands for high-ranking executives, typically those with “chief” in their titles. Send C-Level column ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.

Craig Stoehr

Title: Partner and chair, International Transactional Practice Group, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Milwaukee

Expertise: International business transactions, securities law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital

Experience: General counsel and head of M&A, Thomas Cook Group plc, London; general counsel and executive committee member, Eastgate Capital, Dubai; partner, Latham & Watkins LLP, Qatar/Dubai/New York; CEO, Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, Istanbul/Milan; chairman, Milwaukee Mile; director, Wisconsin Sports Development Corp.; director, Metro Milwaukee American Heart Association

Education: J.D., Northwestern University School of Law; one year, Marquette University Law School; B.A., political science, University of Minnesota

Family: Wife, Lama Hasan, an Emmy-award winning former ABC News foreign correspondent; son, Samer

Best advice ever received: “No matter what happens, tomorrow, the sun will rise in the east.”

Favorite movie: “Lawrence of Arabia”

Favorite Wisconsin restaurant: Golden Mast Inn on Okauchee Lake. “Friday night fish fries at the Mast are an institution.”

Personal: “I attended the Roger Waters ‘The Wall - Live in Berlin’ concert in 1990.”