Geoffrey Sant

In 2020, Geoffrey and his team won a $90 million arbitration award, including a fee award of over $2 million for an international client. Also in 2020, Geoffrey and his team won a fraudulent transfer litigation after a four-day trial, with the court finding $42 million in transfers to be fraudulent, and also awarding $6.5 million in fees (and 14% interest) to Geoffrey’s client. The entire award was affirmed on appeal before the Eighth Circuit.

Geoffrey has taught China in U.S. Litigation at Columbia University School of Law and banking litigation and fundamental lawyering skills classes at Fordham University School of Law and China University of Political Science and Law (in Beijing). He is an arbitrator at the Shenzhen International Court of Arbitration.

• Won on motion to dismiss, obtaining complete dismissal of multimillion-dollar claims against international bank. (Uni-Rty Corporation v. New York Guangdong Finance, Inc.)
• Won dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds in a multimillion-dollar breach of contract and tort case against NASDAQ-listed technology company. (Huang v. Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc.)

• Geoffrey has taught courses on international litigation, banking litigation and the U.S. legal system at Columbia University School of Law and Fordham University School of Law in the United States, as well as at China University of Political Science and Law in China. Geoffrey has also lectured at such universities as Yale University in the United States and Renmin University, Tsinghua University and Xiamen University in China.
• Geoffrey’s interviews and commentary on legal issues have appeared in such media as American Lawyer, BBC Radio, CBC Radio, CCTV, CNN, CNBC, Global Times, The New York Times, People’s Daily, Phoenix Television and The Wall Street Journal, among others. In 2016, The Atlantic selected one of Geoffrey’s writings as an “Exceptional Work of Journalism.”
• Arbitrator for the Shenzhen International Court of Arbitration, as well as the South China International Arbitration Center.
• Selected as “Young Sinologist” by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China; nominated by the Chinese Consulate-General in New York.
• Repeat winner of Chinese Business Law Awards, including for Aviation and for Banking & Finance, and identified as having stand-out “performance and communication skills.”
• Director and treasurer, Chinese Business Lawyers Association
• President of the board of directors, New York Chinese Cultural Center
• External Publications
  • Courts Increasingly Demand that Companies Break the Law, Akron Law Review, Vo. 52, No. 1 (2019).
  • 尚撷福：让好莱坞多点华人面孔 (Geoffrey Sant: Hollywood Should Have More Asian Faces), Global Times (环球时报), Feb. 4, 2017.
  • 青年汉学家研修计划”搭建中外桥梁 (“Qing Nian Han Xue Jia Yan Xiu Ji Hua,” Da Jian Zhong Wai Qiao Liang), People’s Daily Overseas Edition, Sept. 9, 2016.
  • Court-Ordered Law Breaking, Brooklyn Law Review, Vol. 81, No. 1 (2016).
  • The Failure of Anti-Money Laundering Regulation: Where Is the Cost-Benefit Analysis?, Notre Dame Law Review, Dec. 1, 2015.
  • The Choking Continues after ‘Choke Point,’ American Banker, Oct. 19, 2015.
  • Op-Ed, Account Closed: How Bank ‘De-Risking’ Hurts Legitimate Customers, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 12, 2015.
  • New York State Legislature Seeks to Overturn ‘Daimler,’ New York Law Journal, May 20, 2015.
  • What’s Left of Koehler? The New York Court of Appeals’ Endorsement of the Separate Entity Rule Eviscerates Its Koehler Decision from Just Five Years Ago, Securities Regulation & Law Report, May 11, 2015.
  • Aerospatiale Factors on Discovery in Violation of Foreign Laws, New York Law Journal, Dec. 8, 2014.
  • So Banks Are Terrorists Now? The Misuse of the Civil Suit Provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Arizona State Law Journal, Vol.45, No. 2 (2013).
  • The Rejection of the Separate Entity Rule Validates the Separate Entity Rule, SMU Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 4 (2012).
• Speaking Engagements
  • International Legal Forum on Collection of Domestic and Foreign Debts, March 28, 2024. Speaker.
  • Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime, 2017–2019, 2022–2023. Speaker, moderator and panelist.
  • “China in U.S. Litigation,” Columbia University School of Law, Spring 2020. Adjunct professor.
  • “Fundamental Lawyering Skills for LLMs,” Fordham University School of Law, 2019–2022. Adjunct professor.
  • International Enforcement between U.S. and China, University of International Business and Economics, Nov. 1, 2019. Speaker.
  • International Enforcement between U.S. and China, Bay Area Council, Oct. 10, 2019. Speaker.
  • “Banking Litigation,” Fordham University School of Law, 2013–2018. Adjunct professor.
  • “U.S.-China Trade War,” China Investment Group / China Daily, Sept. 20, 2018. Panelist.
  • “Unexplained Wealth: Suing China’s Most Wanted Fugitives,” Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime, Sept. 7, 2018. Speaker.
  • “E-Discovery in China,” Chinese Business Lawyers Association, Webinar, March 12, 2018. Organizer and moderator.
  • “Investigations and Discovery in China: E-Discovery Challenges,” Fordham Law School, Jan. 24, 2018. Organizer and moderator.
  • “The Evolution of ADR Services for Inbound and Outbound Investment,” JAMS & The Shanghai Commercial Mediation Center, Oct. 16, 2017. Moderator.
  • “The Chinese Supreme People’s Court Database – How to Use it and What Secrets Does it Reveal about China’s Legal System?,” Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (at Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), Aug. 18, 2017. Speaker.
  • “Discovery and Investigations in China,” Fordham Law School, Jan. 24, 2017. Moderator.
  • “智商，情商，法商,” Renmin University Lawyer College (Famous Lawyers Lecture Series, 23rd Lecture; speaker), Oct. 21, 2016
  • “Delaware Governor Jack Markell, Unplugged: A Frank Discussion on Banking, the Global Economy, and the ‘Delaware Way,’” Fordham University School of Law, May 2, 2011. Moderator.
  • “Hot Topics Involving Bankruptcy and China,” St. John’s Law School, March 24, 2016. Organizer.
  • “Emerging Companies: From Domestic Establishment to International Expansion,” Cardozo Law School, March 16, 2016. Moderator.
  • “Many Faces of Mediation: An Alternative to Courtroom Drama,” JAMS, Aug. 11, 2015. Moderator.
  • “Cross-Cultural Negotiation,” Fordham Law School, July 30, 2015. Panelist.
  • “Litigating under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” NYU Law School, April 22, 2015. Panelist.
  • “China Unfolding: Linking the Past to the Present,” Yale University, March 28, 2015. Presenter.
  • “Chinese Companies and U.S. Class Actions: Securities Litigation and Product Liability,” Cardozo Law School, March 24, 2015. Moderator and organizer.
  • “Chinese Intellectual Property Law,” Fordham University School of Law, Feb. 27, 2015. Guest lecturer.
  • “Trade Disputes Involving China and the United States,” Brooklyn Law School, Jan. 21, 2015. Moderator.
  • “Innovative Options for Entering the China Market: How Changes in Chinese Law Have Created New Approaches,” ABA Section of International Law, July 23, 2014. Moderator and panelist.
  • “Legal Careers in Banking,” Fordham University School of Law, Nov. 25, 2013. Moderator.
  • “International Careers: A Panel Discussion for Future Firm Associates,” Columbia University Law School, Nov. 21, 2013. Moderator.
  • “Legal Issues and Careers: China and the U.S.,” (in Chinese) Tsinghua University, Nov. 14, 2013. Speaker.
  • “Legal Problems Facing Chinese Companies Investing in the United States,” (in Chinese), Xiamen University, May 21, 2013. Presenter.
  • “Chinese Companies’ Outbound Investment in the United States,” Fourth Fudan EMBA New York Forum, Bank of America Tower, May 6, 2013. Panelist.
  • “U.S. Legal Issues Impacting Chinese Businesses,” (in Chinese), Tsinghua University, April 23, 2013. Panelist.
  • “Litigation Challenges Facing Chinese Companies in the United States,” (with Hon. Denny Chin; Prof. Mark Cohen; Prof. Carl Minzner, and others) at “Deals and Suits: Challenges and Opportunities for Chinese Companies Doing Business in the United States,” Fordham Law School, Jan. 28, 2013. Panelist.
  • “Going Private and Going Dark: Considerations for U.S. Publicly Traded Chinese Companies,” Nov. 14, moderated a seminar at NYU School of Law on U.S. publicly traded Chinese companies considering leaving the U.S. reporting system featuring speakers from Harbin Electric, Inc.; Morgan Joseph TriArtisan LLC; Houlihan Lokey; and UHY Advisors NY, Inc. Moderator.
  • “Chinese IP Legal Principles and Practice,” Fordham University School of Law, Nov. 12, 2012. Guest lecturer.
  • “International Practice – Career Panel II,” Oct. 3, 2012, moderated and organized a panel discussion of international careers, NYU School of Law.
  • “International Practice – A Career Panel,” Oct. 1, 2012, moderated and organized a panel discussion of international careers, Fordham Law School.
  • Geoffrey Sant has been cited at the United States Supreme Court; the New York Court of Appeals; and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, among other courts.