Kate Tuma focuses her practice on representing both domestic and foreign companies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, technology transfer, and other strategic transactions and investments. She primarily works with clients in the automotive, telecommunications, biomedical and food/agribusiness industries.
Kate also regularly represents and advises clients on general corporate, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and antitrust-related investigations and class actions. She most recently acted as the interim director of litigation and associate general counsel for a major financial services company.
- Defending (as lead defense counsel) a Korean food manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary in antitrust class action in federal court leading to a jury verdict in favor of client-defendant.
- Advising a Japanese precision instrument manufacturer in antitrust investigations in Japan, Korea and the US.
- Advising a Japanese trading company in a US$1.6 billion acquisition of a US seafood company.
- Advising a Japanese steel company in an auction-driven acquisition of a Russian steel company’s US-based assets and operations valued at approximately US$2.2 billion.
- Advising a Japanese trading company in a US$1.7 billion acquisition of a US-based producer of fruits and vegetables and its worldwide packaged foods business.
- Advising a Japanese telecommunications company in a US$750 million tender offer for purchase of a US global information technology provider of cloud-enabled enterprise hosting and application management services.
- Advising a Japanese petroleum company in a US$1.05 billion joint venture involving the production and supply of surfactants and alpha olefins.
- Advising a Japanese manufacturer of water treatment systems in connection with a US$630 million construction of facilities at a South Texas nuclear power plant.
Advising a major Japanese EPC firm in an international joint venture involving the construction of a US$4 billion steel mill in Brazil. - Advising a Japanese pharmaceutical company in connection with the worldwide licensing and supply of its rotary tableting machines used in the mass manufacture of pharmaceutical products.
- Advising a Japanese confectionery manufacturer in a US$262 million acquisition of a Polish chocolate company.
- Advising a Japanese medical diagnostics company in a US$775 million sale of its related business and assets worldwide.
- Advising a major US electronics distributor in its US$500 million acquisition of a Japanese electronics components manufacturer.
- Advising a US OEM in service agreements for nationwide recall programs and other related warranty programs.
- Advising a US OEM in connection with nationwide fleet vehicle contracts and program rules.
- Advising a US OEM in negotiating and structuring nationwide extended warranty program plans, involving insurance and reinsurance companies and other marketing and plan administrators.
- Advising US OEM in various transactions involving online service agreements, data processing, digital hosting and data transfer agreements, as well as structuring and drafting data privacy policies.
- Advising a US OEM in connection with retail financing, merchant participation, fleet management service and other similar agreements.
- Advising an Italian OEM in a joint development agreement relating to hyper-powered electric vehicles.
- Advising a US OEM in supply agreements with major US logistics, delivery services and electronic commerce companies.
- Advising several foreign auto manufacturers (China, India, UK) in exploring opportunities to partner with an existing dealer franchise network or to establish its own dealer network.
- Advising a Japanese aircraft manufacturer in connection with various industry specific issues including aircraft leasing, financing, commercial and customer distress issues.
- Advising a Korean electronics manufacturer in a joint venture, R&D and strategic investment with various Chinese and Taiwanese components suppliers.
- Advising an OEM in various commercial, regulatory and corporate matters; alternative mobility program; national dealer assistance financing.
- Advising an OEM in connection with labor dispute, worker safety and other issues at manufacturing plant in LATAM.
- Advising an OEM in connection with potential supply chain monitoring, factory reopening and other regulatory requirements in China.
Education
- University of Chicago, J.D., Ruth Wyatt Rosenson Scholar, 2003
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1996
Admissions
- California, Passed Bar Exam, Admission Pending
- Hawaii, 2017
- Illinois, 2003
- U.S. Dist. Ct., N. Dist. of Illinois
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2008
Memberships and Affiliations
- Back on My Feet, advisory board member
- Pro Bono Network (Chicago), volunteer lawyer
Languages
- English
- Korean