Dennis Unkovic is a corporate lawyer with significant M&A experience. He works for both U.S. companies and foreign entities with their international activities and investments. He negotiates and structures complex commercial transactions, such as international mergers and acquisitions and often advises on inbound and outbound direct foreign investment projects. From time to time, he serves as an ICDR arbitrator or party counsel on domestic and international arbitration proceedings. Dennis has also, over the last three years, given many webinars and presentations on the significant challenges facing the global supply chain.
Dennis has traveled to 63 countries over the last 35 years, with significant involvement in transactions in China, India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and throughout Europe. When he is not working or traveling for business, he enjoys writing, scuba diving, golf, and spending time with his wife and young grandchildren.
- Included in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America for International Trade and Finance, Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law since 2003.
- Ranked as Senior Statespeople in Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh & Surrounds in Corporate/M&A & Private Equity in Chambers USA.
- Meritas® Legal Network
- Chairman of the Board, 2015 to May 2018
- Board of Directors (two terms)
- Member of Executive Committee (two years)
- American Arbitration Association
- Panel Member, 1977 to present
- International Centre for Dispute Resolution, member of its International Panel of Arbitrators, 2002 to present
- Civic Light Opera Association of Pittsburgh, Board Member, Executive Committee, 2008 to present
- Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania Secretary, Legal Counsel and Board Member, 1993 to present
- Pennsylvania Bar Institute Business Law Curriculum Advisory Committee, 1999 to present
- Pennsylvania Economy League, Board Member, 1996 to present
- University of Pittsburgh Center for International Legal Education Advisory Board, 1997 to present
- University of Pittsburgh University Center for International Studies Board of Visitors, Board Member, 1999 to 2018
- World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, Former Chairman of Board of Directors
- Board Member (20 years)
- Member of Executive Committee (5 years)
- Allegheny County Bar Association, 1973 to present
- American Bar Association, 1974 to present
- Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats, 1979 to present
- District of Columbia Bar Association, 1974 to present
- The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation , Life Member
- Inter-Pacific Bar Association, 1993 to present, former Board Member
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1973 to present
- Pennsylvania
- District of Columbia
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- J.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1973
- B.A., University of Virginia, 1970, with Distinction
- Click here to view a compilation of Dennis’s notable interviews.
- The Fragility of China: Breaking Points of an Invincible Regime, published July 2024 by Encounter Books (New York).
- Transforming the Global Supply Chain: Cyber Warfare, Technology, and Politics, published August 2021 by the American Bar Association (Chicago, Illinois).
- US-China Competition in a Biden-era and its Impact on China and its Neighbouring Countries, presented August 2021 by Meritas Lawfirms Worldwide (Singapore).
- America In The Mirror: Before and After COVID 19, published August 2020 as an Amazon Kindle book.
- Dennis has presented over 25 webinars describing damage that was inflicted by COVID-19 on the global supply chain and the prospects for realignment.
- Asia Ascending: Insider Strategies for Competing with the Global Colossus, published October 2018 by the American Bar Association (Chicago, Illinois).
- FACE: How Saving Face Changes Everything, (Kindle Single), published in 2016 by Amazon Digital Services LLC.
- Frequently invited to speak to business executives, trade associations, and government and academic leaders on timely international issues and developments.
- Foreign Direct Investment: A View from the Inside, book edition, published 2016 by The Global Legal Post, London, U.K. where he served as the editor.
- Numerous presentations since 1982 in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, India, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, the Philippines, New Zealand, Germany, Portugal, the former Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Mexico, Serbia, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Macedonia, Spain, France, Austria, Greece, Sri Lanka, Chile, the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Canada, Puerto Rico, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Bahamas.
- Authored eleven books, edited and contributed to seven other books, and written over 175 articles appearing in domestic and international publications.
- Understanding Asia: Winning Strategies for Business Success, published in 2011 by the American Bar Association (Chicago, Illinois).
- The Art of Investing in America: Secrets to Success, published in English and Chinese in March 2009 by Metallurgical Industry Press (Beijing, China).
- Editor for On the Horizon – Renewable Energy in Asia: A Practical Guide, a collection of legal outlines from twelve countries compiled by Meritas® Law Firms Worldwide, Copyright © 2011, Meritas, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Editor for Successful Strategies for Doing Business in Asia, a collection of outlines from twelve countries compiled by Meritas® Law Firms Worldwide, Copyright © 2007, Meritas, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota. Revised and updated second edition published September 2010. Revised and updated fourth edition published 2016.
- Contributing author to Licensing Best Practices: Strategic, Territorial, and Technology Issues, a compilation by the Licensing Executives Society International, published April 2006, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York.
- Contributing author to The LESI Guide to Licensing Best Practices, a compilation by the Licensing Executives Society International, published June 2002, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York.
- Beyond the Japanese Style Management: The Last Survival Strategies in the 20th Century, published February 1995, Diamond, Inc., Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese).
- Revisioning Japan: Inside the American Mind, published September 1990, Diamond, Inc., Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese).
- The Trade Secrets Handbook: Strategies and Techniques for Safeguarding Corporate Information, published May 1985, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Japanese translation published 1986 by ASCII Publishing in Tokyo; Serbo-Croatian translation, 1989; Chinese translation, 1992.
- International Opportunities and the Export Trading Company Act of 1982, published March 1984 by the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Corporate Practice Series, No. 37; first update November 1989; second update April 1993; third update May 1995; fourth update November 2002.