K & S has represented clients in cross-national matters involving criminal allegations or civil claims. Paul Kiyonaga has lived in Brazil, Panama, Japan and Spain and draws upon his network of attorney colleagues, knowledge of international institutions and proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish in providing such representation.
International Matters
Representative Matters and Results
- Republic of Georgia diplomat Gueorgui Makharadze who had pled guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of a Brazilian woman in Washington, D.C. in 1997. K & S represented him when he was sued civilly by the family of the Brazilian woman and succeeded in getting the case dismissed. K & S later secured the transfer of Mr. Makharadze to Georgia pursuant to the Council of Europe Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and after extended discussions with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Justice.
- A group of U.S. scientists who were arrested in Brazil in connection with charges of “bio-piracy.” Working with counsel in Brazil, K & S was successful in getting the charges dismissed and in quashing an extradition request from Brazil.
- A prominent Argentine political figure before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a high-profile case involving allegations that he had ordered the execution of a photojournalist.
- A former Ambassador from Brazil to the United States, in a suit in D.C. Superior Court against an international insurance company. The case, alleging novel discrimination claims under the D.C. Human Rights Act, involved discovery efforts in the Brazil, including the use of letters rogatory and extra-territorial depositions.
- A minor whose family alleged he had been sexually assaulted by an intoxicated passenger while on a flight on a major international airline. K & S worked closely with a law firm in Brazil and succeeded in obtaining a favorable financial settlement which included substantial annual payments to the minor through age 18.
