Practice Areas

We uniquely combine regulator, industry, and litigation experience to provide clients with practical and forward-looking legal guidance on U.S. export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and national security matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

That unique combination of experience includes:

• Regulator experience writing export control laws at the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), working with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) to revise the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, including the U.S. Munitions List and Commerce Control List.
  

• Industry experience working with more than 250 companies, including defense primes and Fortune 500 companies, on all aspects of U.S. export controls. That experience also includes a secondment in a senior counsel role with a Fortune Global 50 company and working closely with internal compliance teams for several companies under ITAR consent agreements.
  

• Litigation experience involving constitutional and regulatory interpretative issues concerning the ITAR, leading to a federal appellate court finding the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ core regulatory position as meritless, the first-ever appellate decision to invalidate the agency’s construction of the ITAR. We have also advised several companies on pre-litigation strategies.
  

Our expertise is particularly sought after for the most complex and high-stakes matters. We excel in developing legal strategies to reverse adverse agency actions, defending against alleged export control violations, negotiating ITAR consent agreements, resolving commodity jurisdiction and classification issues, and advocating for favorable rulemaking changes and interpretations.