Leading North Carolina law firm Brooks Pierce is bolstering its international law practice group, adding three new attorneys with experience in cross-border cases to its Raleigh office. Shruti Rana joins the firm as of counsel while Shepard O’Connell and Fernando Alvarez-Perez join as associates.
“We are excited to welcome these three strong attorneys to the firm,” said Reid Phillips, managing partner of Brooks Pierce. “Shruti, Shepard and Fernando each bring diverse and valuable experience in cross-border law, and they will be key players in our growing international practice. As businesses continue to become more globally focused, I know their insight and knowledge will benefit all of our clients.”
Rana has represented a wide variety of clients in transactional and litigation matters involving finance, banking, regulatory and intellectual property issues both domestically and abroad. Rana has practiced at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. and Quinn Emanuel LLP in San Francisco. She has also taught international and comparative business law, most recently at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and the University of Maryland. She previously served at the United Nations, Division for the Advancement of Women, where her work focused on treaty monitoring and compliance in select countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. Rana was a judicial law clerk to the Hon. James R. Browning, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Rana has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and received her law degree from the Columbia University School of Law. She has lived in Japan, China, Malaysia, Finland, and the United Kingdom and is fluent in Hindi. Rana is admitted to practice in California and Washington, D.C., but not yet licensed in North Carolina.
O’Connell focuses her practice on commercial litigation and international arbitration. Before joining Brooks Pierce, she was an associate at 
Arnold & Porter LLP, where she represented multinational corporations and foreign governments in disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree from the University of Chile and her law degree from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She is fluent in Spanish. O’Connell is licensed to practice law in California and Washington, D.C. She has passed the North Carolina Bar Exam, and expects to be sworn in to practice law in the state shortly.
Alvarez-Perez has represented foreign and domestic clients in federal and state courts in commercial litigation, petitions for discovery in aid of foreign proceedings, and in claims against foreign sovereign states based upon international law. He also has significant experience in international commercial arbitration and investor-state arbitration, having worked on cases before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. He is fluent in Spanish. Alvarez-Perez is admitted to practice in Florida, but not yet licensed in North Carolina.
