Dr. Alena McCorkle represents German and international clients from a wide range of industries in complex and cross-border disputes, both in and out of court, as well as in arbitration proceedings. Alena handles a full spectrum of litigation and arbitration matters, including:

  • International disputes with a focus on cross-border discovery
  • Consumer litigation and mass actions
  • Complex commercial litigation and arbitration, including post-M&A disputes
  • Securities litigation
  • Constitutional complaints

Over the years, she has established trustful relationships with long-standing clients. International clients benefit from Alena’s strong intercultural skills, which she developed through her work on international matters as well as in the firm’s global recruiting and associates committees, during a client secondment in Milan, and during her legal training in Latham’s Chicago office. Since then, Alena has built strong ties into Latham’s US litigation practice.

Alena is a member of the firm’s Global Legal Professional & Paralegal Committee.

She maintains an active pro bono practice focused on enforcing the rights of persons with disabilities and fostering inclusion in education and society.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 ranks her Name of the Next Generation for Commercial Litigation. She was also named as a leading lawyer for Litigation Germany by WirtschaftsWoche 2022 and 2023.

Standard commentaries on the German Code of Civil Procedure and the German Federal Court of Justice have cited her doctoral thesis on internet research that judges perform in civil litigation.

Alena’s experience includes:

  • Defending a German company against thousands of customer claims brought before German courts
  • Representing Daimler and Toll Collect in favorably settled ad hoc arbitration proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany, with more than €10 billion in dispute in connection with the introduction of the route-based truck toll in Germany
  • Representing Daimler in a US securities class action, including cross-border discovery
  • Advising a German company as a plaintiff in a post-M&A ICC arbitration
  • Advising a German company and its international subsidiaries in a post-M&A litigation
  • Advising ZF Friedrichshafen AG and its US subsidiary in quashing pre-arbitration discovery in the US (up to the US Supreme Court)
  • Representing a German company and its international affiliates in a constitutional complaint regarding violations of procedural rights in antitrust proceedings

Pro Bono Matters 

  • Advising German nonprofit associations and individuals with disabilities in connection with the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including a constitutional complaint and complaint to the UN to achieve inclusive education for a girl with slight cognitive impairment

Bar Qualification

  • Rechtsanwältin (Germany)

Education

  • Dr. iur., University of Gießen, 2018
  • Second German State Exam, Higher Regional Court, Frankfurt, 2013
  • First German State Exam, University of Gießen, 2011
  • M.A. in Political Science and Sociology, University of Gießen, 2008

Languages Spoken

  • German
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Italian