International Trade Compliance
Wiggin and Danaโs International Trade Compliance team provides practical guidance to solve clientsโ problems related to exports (ITAR/EAR), financial sanctions (OFAC), foreign investment regulation (CFIUS, Team Telecom), foreign agent registration (FARA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE).
Consistently ranked as highly regarded by Chambers & Partners USA and Global, our practice is known for prompt, incisive, practical, and efficient advice based on years of hands-on experience working with many of the worldโs largest aerospace and defense contractors, multinational financial institutions, software service providers, and hi-tech and entrepreneurial companies of all sizes, across the globe.
In the words of our clients, Wiggin and Danaโs international trade compliance group โhas a very deep team capable of handling a broad range of complex issues,โ is โ[o]ur favorite โgo toโ U.S. lawyer for U.S. export control and trade sanctions advice,โ is โspeedy and professional,โ and โprovide[s] a terrifyingly good level of service.โ
Our services include:
- Representing companies subject to, or facing the prospect of, a government-imposed enforcement action or consent agreement, by providing strategic guidance, conducting internal investigations, drafting disclosures, and liaising with government officials;
- Helping companies to create or enhance compliance programs, drafting and guiding implementation of practical, right-sized policies and procedures and global training;
- Providing effective legal advice and leadership as a member of the companyโs cross-functional team, to address regulatory compliance crises;
- Serving as government-appointed Special Compliance Officers (monitors) for companies subject to consent agreements;
- Defending companies and individuals charged with, or facing the prospect of, criminal or civil government enforcement for violation of U.S. export controls, OFAC sanctions, FCPA, FARA requirements, or breach of CFIUS mitigation agreements, including conducting internal investigations and preparing voluntary or directed disclosures;
- Counseling international investors, acquirors, and U.S. targets on whether foreign investment clearance is necessary and guiding them to successful conclusion of proceedings before CFIUS and assisting in the successful design and implementation of CFIUS mitigation agreements;
- Determining the U.S. export classification of products and technology, including under U.S. encryption controls, preparing Commodity Jurisdiction and CCATS submissions, obtaining export licenses, and preparing FARA registrations;
- Conducting export, sanctions, and CFIUS diligence in connection with M&A activity and troubleshooting adverse findings; and
- Conducting risk assessments and compliance audits and developing and implementing gap-closing measures that are bespoke, sustainable, and provide a competitive advantage.
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Experience
Over the years, our international trade attorneys have represented clients across a broad spectrum of trade and compliance matters. The following are representative examples of our team membersโ experience.
- Served as a U.S. State Department-appointed Special Compliance Officer (monitor) for a major, global aerospace company that entered a consent agreement with the government due to deficiencies in its international trade compliance program.
- Serving as a State Department-appointed Special Compliance Officer (monitor) for a global hi-tech company headquartered in California that was placed under a State Department consent agreement.
- Serving as a State Department-appointed Special Compliance Officer (monitor) for a Fortune 100 global manufacturer.
- Serving as a State Department-appointed Special Compliance Officer (monitor) for a leading defense and aerospace conglomerate.
- Led the successful completion of several significant State Department-overseen audits of multinational companies operating under consent agreements.*
- Led the successful third-party monitorship of a global hospitality company under a stringent CFIUS National Security Agreement.*
- Defended a global electronics manufacturer raided by federal agents for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions, ultimately obtaining a declination from the DOJ, a no-penalty decision from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and quashing law enforcementโs leak of sealed materials to the press.
- Retained by a major global financial institution to replace existing outside counsel and conduct a complex investigation into, and advocate with OFAC regarding, hundreds of potential violations of U.S. economic sanctions regulations, successfully culminating in closure by OFAC without penalty or other adverse action.
- Represented a global defense company subject to an export-related consent agreement, including by providing strategic counseling, designing and implementing an enhanced trade compliance program for sites around the globe, conducting investigations, and drafting voluntary disclosures.
- Developed and delivered a unique, customized, week-long, advanced immersion course in U.S. export controls, including ITAR, EAR, and OFAC sanctions for a major global aerospace company with hundreds of business and compliance personnel around the world. Successfully delivered over 800 hours of advanced export controls training for over 300 employees of the company and its subsidiaries.
- Represented a U.S. scientist under criminal investigation by DOJ for economic espionage and violations of U.S. export control laws.
- Successfully turned back a two-year federal criminal investigation of a multinational aerospace company in connection with alleged False Claims Act (FCA) violations relating to alleged use of counterfeit electrical components imported from China.
- Successfully defended at trial an engineer at a U.S. nuclear power plant charged with unlawfully exporting software to Iran.
- Successfully negotiated a substantially reduced civil penalty for a major non U.S. manufacturing company in connection with unauthorized exports to Iran.
- Counseled strategic communications firms, law firms, and consulting firms on compliance with registration and disclosure obligations under FARA, assisted clients with FARA registrations and supplemental disclosure filings, and responded to investigative inquiries by the FARA Unit in the National Security Division at DOJ.
- Obtained โno actionโ letters from OFAC on behalf of a non-profit organization concerning the production of a documentary film in Iran, a leading public university concerning a faculty memberโs inadvertent violations of Cuba sanctions, and a Fortune 50 subsidiary regarding exports of commercial software to Iran.
- Successfully represented BATFE licensee in an administrative hearing to revoke FFL.
- Conducted internal investigations and submitted voluntary disclosures to multiple agencies regarding Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives (BATFE) and export control violations identified by a significant U.S. firearms manufacturer in connection with a $35,000,000 M&A deal, resulting in no penalty and an all-clear that permitted consummation of this significant deal.
- Conducted a significant investigation on behalf of a prominent U.S. university into unauthorized exports of research materials, culminating in a successful voluntary disclosure submission and closure by the regulatory enforcement agency with no penalty.
- Defended top executives in FCPA prosecutions, culminating in immunity agreements and non prosecution agreements; ongoing defense of major non-U.S. aerospace and defense company against allegations of improper payments to foreign officials and export violations.
- Represented a CIA employee in a federal criminal investigation regarding the leak of classified information, a CIA official in a criminal investigation concerning the treatment of a terrorism detainee, and an FBI agent in criminal prosecutions regarding the misuse of government computer systems.
- Represented a Major in the District of Columbia National Guard regarding his whistleblower testimony at a hearing before the Committee on Natural Resources of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Represented a senior official of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State in a congressional investigation concerning alleged obstruction of DOJ and congressional investigations regarding government contractor abuses in Iraq.
- Represented a former senior official of the Department of Defense in a congressional investigation of military detainee policy, and represented a senior official of BATFE in parallel investigations of โOperation Fast and Furiousโ by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Office of Special Counsel.
- Performed U.S. export control classification analysis for numerous U.S. and foreign high-tech and software companies, including classifications for a cutting-edge data analytics system, a database development and management โDevOpsโ software, a risk assessment tool, a specialized camera for autonomous vehicles, intrusion software, autonomous air and marine systems, hybrid integrated circuits, advanced aerospace materials, and many others.
- Provided CFIUS guidance to a U.S. private equity fund contacted by the Committee regarding a foreign co-investor; a technology company seeking a foreign investor; a high-tech company in connection with investment from a foreign fund; a biotechnology company in connection with proposed investment by a Chinese fund; and numerous foreign high-tech companies that have or plan to establish U.S. subsidiaries.
- Designed and implemented a worldwide sanctions compliance program for a Fortune 200 global logistics company.
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*Alan Levesque completed these matters while working at a prior firm.