Leigh Hansson is a partner in the Global Regulatory Enforcement group and a leading lawyer in our International Trade & National Security team.
Leigh has significant experience representing multi-national corporations in a wide range of industries, including financial services, defense and aerospace, shipping and maritime, education, manufacturing, life sciences, and energy and natural resources. She counsels clients in the legal regimes that govern international trade including the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and European Union and UK sanctions, money laundering, and anti-boycott issues. Her work in these areas also involves practice before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) and advising companies on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).
Leigh provides solutions for clients in a variety of contexts, including:
- Performing audits and internal investigations
- Government enforcement and investigation matters
- Conducting merger and acquisition due diligence reviews
- Supply chain management
- Designing and implementing trade compliance programs
- Conducting compliance training
She routinely represents clients in enforcement matters before OFAC, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”), the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), and other federal agencies. During the last several years, Leigh and her international team have represented clients in hundreds of enforcement matters, including voluntary disclosures and agency-led investigations (subpoenas, directed disclosures, seizures and detentions).
Michael Lowell is the chair of Reed Smith’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Group and a member of the firm’s Global Leadership Team. He is a leading lawyer in our International Trade and National Security Group. Mike has been recognized by Chambers USA and Chambers Global for his work in the export controls arena, and clients praise his “gift of synthesizing and summarizing an incredibly complex area of the law and putting it in layman’s terms to make it digestible and easy to pass along.”
He has an international practice representing clients on trade and regulatory enforcement matters, including export controls, economic sanctions, anti-bribery, and other laws governing cross-border transactions. Mike advises multinational companies from a wide range of industries, including financial services, defense and aerospace, manufacturing, life sciences, and energy and natural resources.
Mike’s practice is focused on the legal regimes that govern international trade, including:
- Sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”);
- Export controls, including the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”);
- Foreign investment controls (“CFIUS”); and
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).
Mike routinely represents clients in enforcement actions and investigations before OFAC, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”), the Bureau of Industry & Security (“BIS”), Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), and other federal government agencies (Justice, Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, Commerce, and others). He has represented clients in hundreds of regulatory enforcement matters, including voluntary disclosures, administrative proceedings, consent agreements, and agency-led investigations (subpoenas, directed disclosures, seizures and detentions).
Philippe Heeren is a partner in the Brussels office dealing with customs, excise, and international trade matters.
Philippe helps businesses understand the impact of customs on their supply chain to ensure that goods can move seamlessly across borders and that the duty and tax impacts of those movements are well understood. In doing so, he addresses the challenges relating to customs valuation, tariffs and origin, as well as formal customs laws (including advance rulings), customs procedures (such as ‘bonded’ warehousing), and contracting with supply chain partners. His practice extends to the broad range of barriers and requirements companies face when bringing goods into the European Union and the United Kingdom, with respect to tariffs, product compliance, and more novel regulatory requirements that are enforced at the border (such as deforestation regulations, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the EU’s Digital Product Passport).
In addition to providing advisory support, Philippe assists clients in solving disputes with customs authorities across the EU and in the UK. His support spans the entire dispute life cycle, from voluntary disclosures to customs audits, investigations and, ultimately, administrative and court proceedings. Philippe has represented several clients before the European Court of Justice – for instance, in a customs valuation matter in the X BV case (C-160/18). Customs is an operational matter; to achieve maximum impact for clients, Philippe works closely with customs authorities at the EU and country level, and has a broad network of in-country legal partners who can make a difference locally.
Alexander Brandt is a partner in the Transportation Industry Group and the lead member of its sanctions practice, having qualified with Reed Smith in February 2014.
Alex advises insurers, owners, charterers, brokers and traders on all aspects of sanctions-related challenges, providing analysis of applicable legislation, assistance with crucial due diligence work and training.
He is extensive experienced in OFAC investigations, disclosures and enforcement actions and has been centrally involved in many of the most high profile designations, seizures and enforcement actions brought against members of the international shipping community by the U.S. Government. One client notes that Alex is “amazing at quick response time, personalised follow-up, good understanding of customer’s business, pleasant communication, ability to deal on short notice with very urgent and non-conventional situations” (The Legal 500 UK, Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime).
Alex also has wide ranging experience drafting protective language for transportation contracts and financing arrangements, and has worked with major lenders and other organisations to develop best-in-class compliance programmes.
James Willn is a partner in the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources Group. He is an arbitration lawyer with more than 14 years’ experience and his practice centres on complex disputes and international arbitrations, largely within the construction, the offshore oil and gas, and other energy industries.
He represents clients in arbitration proceedings under the major international and regional arbitration rules including the ICC, LCIA, DIAC, SIAC, HKIAC, KCAB and DIFC.
In addition to his arbitration experience, James is recognised for his asset tracing and recovery litigation work which is frequently cross-jurisdictional in nature and involves worldwide freezing orders being issued before international courts throughout the world.
James also advises on a range of contentious and non-contentious sanctions issues, advising on all major sanctions regimes (US, EU, UK and UN). He provides project advice to clients navigating international sanctions across a range of sectors, notably within the energy, financial services and maritime industries.
James is listed in the Legal 500 Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist – Middle East Region, and as one of the leading UAE practitioners for dispute resolution in Chambers Global 2022. He is also ranked for UAE construction and dispute resolution: arbitration in Legal 500 EMEA 2020 where clients commented that James ‘is very approachable and easy to work with… he has demonstrated that he can grasp complex and challenging issues and quickly distil them into a simple strategy.’
Brett Hillis focuses his practice on helping commodities and trading companies navigate regulatory issues. He has deep experience in advising clients on international trade and sanctions issues. He regularly assists a wide range of clients with their compliance arrangements for financial sanctions, including advising on the sanctions aspects of specific transactions, drafting sanctions clauses, advising on the interplay on sanctions and the EU Blocking Regulation, and drafting sanctions policies and procedures.