Timothy F. Ashby

Counsel

Timothy Ashby is a member of SNR Denton’s Public Law and Policy Strategies practice and focuses on complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, private financings (such as venture capital and private equity), public offerings of equity and debt securities, private equity and other investment fund formations.  He counsels companies operating in Latin America and Europe, and advises investors establishing and expanding companies globally.  He has been involved in Cuban law and commerce for over 20 years.

Timothy has assisted in special purpose fund formation, the formation of trusts and trust agreements, formation of limited liability companies and the preparation of operating agreements, private placement memorandums and subscription agreements.  He has also participated in numerous privatizations, mergers, acquisitions and asset exchange transactions.

Prior to joining SNR Denton, Timothy served as a principal of Cabesterre, LLC.  He also acted as general counsel to Siboney Limited (Isle of Man), and to the Havana Group, Inc.  In addition, he served at the U.S. Commerce Department, International Trade Administration, as director of the Office of Mexico and the Caribbean and acting deputy assistant secretary of commerce for the Western Hemisphere.  He testified before the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives.  He was a member of the original policy team for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

During Timothy’s tenure with the U.S. Commerce Department, he was involved in discussions with the Cuban government on issues such as compensation for expropriated U.S. assets, technical assistance in developing offshore oil deposits, telecommunications, and airline overflight and landing rights.  He subsequently visited Cuba at the invitation of Cuba’s Ministry of Informatics and Communications (MINIT) to assess the island’s information technology development.  He met with senior officials of Grupo de la Electronica, a division of MINIT responsible for telecommunications; and with executives of Cuba's national telecommunications company La Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA (ETECSA).

Following his government service, Timothy was employed by Ernst and Young in the firm’s London-based International Privatization and Restructuring Services Group, where he managed a variety of projects throughout Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on confiscated property claims and commercial real estate transactions.  He advised the Czechoslovak Federal Ministry of Finance on developing and implementing the Voucher Privatization Program, resulting in divestment of assets with a book value of over $15.5 billion.  Timothy led a team that developed and implemented a privatization and restructuring plan for the Interhotel Tatry Group comprising 14 state-owned hotels in Slovakia, and worked on the acquisition of Gostinyi Dvor, the largest department store in St. Petersburg, Russia.  He advised on Kmart Corporation’s $100 million acquisition of the Prior and Maj department store chains in the Czech and Slovak Republics.  He was subsequently a senior international executive for Grant Thornton LLP, Whittman-Hart, Inc. and Caldera, Inc.

Timothy’s Cuban-related legal work includes legally compliant trade in the biotechnology, medical products and agricultural sectors, as well as confiscated property claims and air carrier licensing.  He advises companies on sanctions administered by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

Timothy has also served as president and chief executive officer of the Sonrisa Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation established to transfer information technology to underprivileged communities in the Caribbean and Latin America.  He currently serves as pro bono counsel to the Sarasota Yacht Club on a charitable project to provide sailing training to underprivileged Cuban youth and promote people-to-people communications through annual US-Cuba regattas.

Timothy received his J.D. cum laude from Seattle University School of Law, his PhD magna cum laude from the University of Southern California, and his MBA with honors from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Representative Engagements

• Counsel to public and private companies and investor groups in fund formation and private placements of equity and debt securities, including early stage and venture capital financings.
• Developed and managed class action Lavaggi v. Republic of Argentina on behalf of holders of $16 billion in defaulted Argentine bonds.  Managed litigation strategy, drafting pleadings, locating and signing of plaintiffs in seven countries.  Wrote The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Sovereign Debt: A Practitioners Guide to the Commercial Activity Exception as a litigation blueprint.
• Acquisition of Gostinyi Dvor department store, St. Petersburg, Russia.  Team structured acquisition of largest department store in St. Petersburg.  Developed due diligence checklist for a cross border corporate acquisition, including legal, financial and structural considerations.
• Privatization and restructuring of Interhotel Tatry Group.  Developed and implemented privatization and restructuring plan for group comprising 14 state-owned hotels in Slovakia.  Performed due diligence, evaluated restitution claims, negotiated sale agreements.  Worked with international legal and accounting teams and government ministries on contracts and laws governing real property and foreign direct investment.
• Structured joint-venture between Ramada International, Rawson Management Inc., and a Guatemalan investment consortium to construct and manage a $13 million hotel project near the international airport in Guatemala City.
• Developed plan for the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) for privatization and divestment of state-owned hotel properties on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

Organizations

• American Bar Association
• Cuban-American Bar Association
• US-Cuba Legal Forum
• Institute of Directors (UK)
• Association of Corporate Counsel

Publications

His publications on Cuban law and business include:

• “US Certified Claims Against Cuba – Legal Reality and Likely Settlement Mechanisms,” Inter-American Law Review, University of Miami, publication pending, May 2009 
• “Land Tenure in Cuba: Implications and Potential Models for Foreign Real Property Holdings and Investment in a Future Cuba (with Scott Jablonski) Cuba in Transition," ASCE, 2006
• “Taxation of Cuban Confiscated Assets After Property Claims Settlements: Issues for Taxpayers and the US Government,” International Law Quarterly, Summer 2005
• “Cuban Real Property – Current Laws and Future Prospects,” Real Estate Law Journal, Fall 2004
• “Silicon Island: Cuba’s Digital Revolution,” Harvard International Review, Fall 2001

Presentations

• “Claims Issues and Taxation of Restituted Assets in Cuba,” Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, March 24, 2006
• "Strategies and Tools for Your Clients’ Foreign Investments,” Continuing Legal Education course, Washington State Bar Association, International Practice Section, May 14, 2004
• Keynote Speech, Annual Manufacturing in Mexico Conference, Los Angeles, 1988, 1989 and 1990

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