2024 Global Year-End Review of Import/Export & Trade Compliance Developments Conference

Mr. McKenzie's practice is focused on cross-border transactions and international trade regulation, including: - Export Controls, Economic Sanctions Regulation, Customs and Import Regulation - Integrated Corporate Compliance and Anti-Corruption Compliance: Advisory and Investigations - International commercial and technology development and transfer transactions Mr. McKenzie was articles editor at the Harvard Law Review from 1975-1976. Between college and law school Mr. McKenzie served in the Peace Corps in the northwestern mountains of Guatemala. He joined Baker & McKenzie in 1976. Since that time, he has worked in Baker & McKenzie offices in Caracas, Venezuela and Taipei, Taiwan, in addition to San Francisco. For the past 40 years, Mr. McKenzie has arranged and chaired the annual Baker McKenzie Import/Export Conference, the leading international trade regulation and compliance conference in the West Coast of the United States.

• Website

Alison Stafford Powell co-leads the Firm's West Coast Trade Compliance team. She has considerable experience counseling US and non-US companies on managing trade compliance in the areas of export controls, trade and financial sanctions and US anti-boycott laws. As a dual-qualified lawyer, she provides practical advice to help non-US companies reconcile US and foreign trade regulations and on the extra-territorial impact of US trade restrictions. Chambers USA quotes clients' praise for her being "extremely knowledgeable, responsive, commercially strong and understanding complex issues well." Legal 500 describes here as an "outstanding specialist." She has worked in the Firm's London, Washington, DC and Palo Alto offices since 1996.

• Website

Paul Amberg is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Madrid office, where he handles international trade and compliance issues. He advises multinational companies on export controls, trade sanctions, antiboycott rules, customs laws, anticorruption laws, and commercial law matters.

• Website

Daniel Andreeff is an associate in the Firm’s International Trade practice group in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the Firm, he interned with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

• Website

Nicholas (Nick) Arico is a non-lawyer Cybersecurity Specialist in our Firm's North America Intellectual Property & Technology Law Group, and is based in our Los Angeles office. Nick is an accomplished cybersecurity leader with over 20 years of experience with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He has led and managed a variety of complex cyber investigations and intelligence matters, fostering collaboration and communication across diverse teams to address cutting edge cybersecurity threats, inform executive leadership in the private sector, and support national security objectives.

• Website

Aarthi Belani is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Palo Alto office. Aarthi’s practice focuses on M&A and venture deals in the tech and life sciences arena. She represents strategic acquirers, especially in cross-border deals, emerging growth technology companies, venture capital funds, and corporate venture capital. She has also represented the sell-side and advised on health care, financial services, and impact investment deals. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Aarthi was a partner in the M&A practice of a top-tier international law firm. Prior to that, she was on the in-house legal team covering strategic M&A at Credit Suisse in New York, where she was also a member of the Sustainability Network, a Credit Suisse OneBank (cross-divisional) initiative to develop impact investment products. At the start of her career, Aarthi was an associate in the New York office of another top-tier international law firm for five years, where she worked on complex strategic M&A and innovative development finance. She is a mentor for the Unreasonable Group (a program for entrepreneurs); a Leadership Committee member of How Women Lead, which is part of the campaign to increase the representation of women on corporate boards; and a director of Bidoun, a not-for-profit publishing, curatorial, and educational initiative that prints a quarterly magazine showcasing art and culture from the Middle East.

• Website

A specialist in foreign trade and customs, Gonzalo has a broad experience in advisory, preventive audits and litigation related with sophisticated trade operations, trade facilitation and investment. His professional expertise includes legal advisory provided to either domestic or international enterprises, specifically related to import and export regimes, customs valuation, tariff classification, rules of origin, trade barriers (sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade), investment and infrastructure, supply chain management, transport, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Regional and Plurilateral Agreements (CAN, MERCOSUR, among others) compliance and WTO law.
Estudio Echecopar is a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein

• Website

Derk Christiaans is an associate in Baker McKenzie's London office and advises (multi)national companies on EU, competition and trade matters in various industries, including healthcare and life sciences, TMT, and consumer goods and retail.

• Website

Kerry Contini is a partner in the Firm's International Trade practice and Global Sanctions Investigations group, specializing in sanctions and export controls. She helps multinational companies navigate these ever-changing rules and guides them through investigations when compliance issues occur. Kerry provides strategic advice on related geopolitical risks, human rights, and supply chain issues.
Kerry has been ranked by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, with clients highlighting that "her advice and solutions are business-focused" and that she is "very practical and easy to work with." Legal 500 reported a client as stating that "Kerry is thoughtful, practical, efficient, and has really invested in getting to know our business and our team."
Kerry has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Global Investigations Review, Bloomberg Law, the National Law Journal and Asian Legal Business. She is an editor of the Firm's Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog and is a regular contributor to the Firm's Global Sanctions & Export Controls Blog.
Kerry is passionate about inclusion and diversity and is involved in the BakerWomen DC and regional leadership. She has maintained an active pro bono practice throughout her career at Baker McKenzie, primarily focusing on public international law, animal advocacy and election protection.
Kerry has been with Baker McKenzie since she was a summer associate in 2005. She started as an associate in 2006.

• Website

Patrick de Lapérouse is a senior associate in the Firm's Washington DC office, where he is a member of the International Commercial Practice Group. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Patrick worked at another international law firm, focusing on inbound and outbound international trade matters.

• Website

Dr. Alexander Ehrle is a member of the Firm's International Trade Practice in Baker McKenzie's Berlin office. Alexander studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg, Montpellier (France), Mainz, Munich and New York (NYU) specializing in Public International and European Law. He worked as advisor and member of a delegation of a developing country at the United Nations before qualifying for the German bar. He spent his clerkship with the Higher Regional Court in Berlin, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin and Tokyo as well as an international law firm in Frankfurt and Milan. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the structural changes of public international law and their conceptualization in academic discourse basing his research on the governance of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Alexander is admitted to practice in Germany and New York. 

Alexander co-chairs the Business & Human Rights Committee of the American Bar Association’s International Law Section and has been recognized as one of 40 under 40 lawyers worldwide for foreign investment control by the Global Competition Review.

• Website

Terry Gilroy is a partner in the New York office of Baker McKenzie and a member of the Compliance and Investigations Practice Group. Prior to joining the Firm in 2018, Terry served as Americas Head of the Financial Crime Legal function at Barclays. Terry advises businesses and individuals on white collar and financial crime issues and has significant experience conducting investigations relating to compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and related bribery and corruption statutes, economic sanctions regulations as administered by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and statutes. Terry spent six years on active duty in the United States Army as a Field Artillery officer.

• Website

Tristan is a Partner at Baker McKenzie, advising clients on sanctions and export controls, anti-bribery and corruption and other corporate compliance risks. He provides compliance advice to clients across these risk areas, including in the context of complex cross-border transactions, as well as supporting clients in the management of related internal and external investigations. Tristan has advised clients in respect of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the National Crime Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, and the Competition and Markets Authority, as well as in related investigations by overseas agencies, including the US Department of Justice and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He also counsels clients in the design and implementation of their corporate compliance programmes.
Tristan is the UK head of Baker McKenzie’s market leading international trade practice, which is ranked as Tier 1 by Legal 500 and Band 1 by Chambers UK. He is personally ranked as a Leading Individual for ‘Trade, WTO, Anti-dumping and Customs’ by Legal 500 and for ‘Sanctions’ by Chambers UK. He is the EMEA Chair of the firm's Investigations, Compliance & Ethics practice.
Tristan also advises clients – including multinationals, private equity, SOEs and SWFs – on the impact of national security policy and regulation on their business and transactional strategy, and has supported clients on numerous filings under the UK National Security and Investment Act, as well as coordinating strategy and national security filings before multiple other European and non-European agencies.

• Website

José has been a member of the Foreign Trade Practice Group since 2000. He is experienced in foreign trade and customs matters, free trade agreements (FTA), regulatory matters, consumer protection and export controls. He has contributed to several publications related to foreign trade and customs matters and is a professor of international trade law at the Universidad Panamericana.

• Website

Louis Hsieh is a partner at Baker McKenzie's Taipei office and heads the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) industry group. He also co-leads the international commerce and trade practice.
His practice areas include capital markets and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In addition, Louis has extensive experience advising both domestic and international TMT entities on M&A transactions and regulatory matters. He is also experienced in handling data protection, general corporate affairs, competition law, and trade remedies.

• Website

Rod Hunter, a partner based in the Washington, DC office of Baker McKenzie, practices trade and investment law. He previously served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and senior director for international economics at the National Security Council (NSC), the White House office that coordinates trade policy and supervises CFIUS. In that role, he managed CFIUS cases, including negotiating resolution of the most sensitive cases. A recognized expert in the field, he has testified before Congress during the legislative process leading to recent amendments to CFIUS’ authorizing legislation. Previously, in addition to coordinating U.S. trade policy at the White House’s NSC, he served as senior counsel at the US Trade Representative’s office, where he litigated cases before the World Trade Organization. He has also taught trade law and policy at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and has testified before the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Earlier in his career, Rod practiced regulatory law in Brussels, Belgium for a decade, served as a judicial clerk to Judge Boyce F. Martin, US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, served as an associate to Chief Justice Sir Anthony Mason, High Court of Australia and served as an assistant to Senator John W. Warner, US Senate.

• Website

Adriana has over twenty years of experience in customs and foreign trade matters. She joined Baker McKenzie in 2001, became National Partner in 2005 and a Principal in 2018. She has prior experience working as legal director of Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Safeguards in the Mexican Ministry of Economy where she participated in the negotiation of several free trade agreements (FTAs) and in the first dispute settlement resolution cases initiated by Mexico against the US under the NAFTA. Adriana has been ranked a leading practitioner by Chambers and Partners at Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America as well as Legal 500 for ten consecutive years. She was an associate in our Guadalajara and Washington, D.C. offices and currently Heads the Firm’s North America International Commercial Practice Group in Mexico City.

• Website

Janet Kim focuses on outbound trade compliance issues that arise under US economic sanctions, export control laws, investment restrictions, antiboycott regulations, anti-money laundering laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She represents and advises US and non-US companies in criminal and regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, and compliance audits relating to these areas of law. She also advises on the extraterritorial application of these laws in cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint venture arrangements, and other international commercial activities. Her practice includes the development and implementation of workable, risk-based internal compliance programs and procedures for companies in a wide range of industries. Janet currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Firm’s International Commercial Practice Group and has been with the Washington, DC office since 1994.

• Website

Alexandre (Alex) Lamy joined Baker McKenzie in 2009 and currently works in the Firm's International Trade Practice Group. He assists clients with sanctions and export controls (Export Administration Regulations (EAR); International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)) and he advises clients on corporate compliance matters. Alex contributes regularly to Baker McKenzie's Global Sanctions & Export Controls Update blog.
Alex was the sole US winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award for the "Trade & Customs" category in 2021 and 2022. He was recognized in Who's Who Legal 2022 Edition of its Global Guide to Trade & Customs Lawyers "for his outstanding performance facilitating clients on sanctions, export controls and compliance checks." In 2020, the same publication recognized Alex as a "leading individual" in North America on International Sanctions and the publication reported that he "attracts applause for delivering 'a practical service which understands the needs of the business'. His 'ready availability to clients, thorough research and strong presentation skills' are further acclaimed." He was also recognized in the 2019 Edition of the same publication as being "much sought after by clients who praise his 'advice of the highest quality' and add, 'He is technically very good on OFAC sanctions issues and military/dual use export controls.'" Finally, Alex was named by Financier Worldwide in “POWER PLAYERS: International Trade & Sanctions 2021 - Distinguished Advisers."
Between August 2021 and August 2023, Alex was the co-chair of the ABA Section of International Law’s Export Controls & Economic Sanctions Committee. Prior to that appointment, he served on the steering group and as a Vice Chair of the Committee, starting back in August 2011. Alex has organized multiple events regarding recent developments in US trade sanctions and export controls for the Committee.

• Website

Nicole Looks is a partner within the Amsterdam Tax Practice with more than 25 years of experience. She focuses on advising national and international companies in all value added tax and customs related matters. JUVE Handbook on Commercial Law Firms, International Tax Review, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Handelsblatt in cooperation with Best Lawyers recommend her as leading individual in the area of Indirect Taxes since many years and praise her as " "very knowledgeable about German customs tax" and as “very good and practice-oriented“. Nicole heads the European Customs Practice.

• Website

Juan David López is a senior associate at Baker McKenzie, specializing in foreign exchange, customs and international trade matters. He has more than ten years of experience in the private sector. His career has focused on recurring advice in his areas of expertise, the qualification of new free trade zones and the legal representation of companies in trade defense measures and litigation in both administrative and judicial proceedings.

• Website

Geoff Martin is a partner in the Litigation and Government Enforcement practice group in Washington, DC. Geoff started his career in Baker McKenzie's London office in 2007 and moved to Washington DC in 2012. Geoff represents clients in matters before the federal government arising out of anti-corruption, trade sanctions, fraud, anti-money laundering, national security, and related enforcement actions. He also represents clients in civil and criminal matters in federal court. Geoff has extensive experience conducting internal investigations relating to such matters around the world.

• Website

Kristine Anne Mercado-Tamayo is a partner and the head of Quisumbing Torres’ Tax Practice Group. She heads the Industrials, Manufacturing & Transportations Industry Group and is also a member of the Consumer Goods & Retail. She has 16 years of experience assisting and advising clients on tax issues relating to corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. Kristine also handles customs and international trade matters, including border and post-clearance disputes. She advocates on clients' behalf in controversies involving disputed assessments, representing clients before the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.
Kristine Anne obtained her Doctor of Law degree from the Ateneo de Manila in 2005. She is cited as a Next Generation Partner in Tax by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific for 2020 to 2023. More recently, she has been named highly regarded lawyer for General corporate tax, and Women in tax by ITR World Tax 2023.

• Website

Chandri Navarro is senior counsel in the Firm's International Commercial & Trade Practice Group, based in Washington DC. Chandri has extensive experience advising companies, multinationals, trade associations and governments on customs and trade law and policy, trade compliance matters, free trade negotiations, litigation and legislation. Chandri helps clients resolve trade issues before US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of the US Trade Representative, Department of Commerce (DOC), US Congress and the Court of International Trade. Chandri joined Baker McKenzie after leading the US Customs practice as a partner in another global law firm.

• Website

Anne has been with Baker McKenzie since 2001. Prior to that, she spent four years with the Australian Attorney-General's Department/Australian Government Solicitor mostly working on large IT projects.
In her time at Baker McKenzie, Anne has spent 18 months working in London (2007-2008) and, more recently, three years working in Singapore (2017-2020).

• Website

Jennifer Revis is a partner in Baker McKenzie's London office and co-leads our EMEA Customs Team.
Jennifer focuses her practice on the public regulation of international trade, particularly in a wide range of customs compliance issues. She regularly advises clients on import matters, including customs valuation, rules of origin, and classification. She has worked with clients designing and implementing their compliance programs, policies, procedures and risk assessments, and assisting them in customs audits. She has significant experience in managing global customs projects and disputes, particularly in the area of customs valuation (transfer pricing; assists; royalties). Jennifer also advises on FTAs and trade remedies matters.
Jennifer has been consistently recognised as a "Leading Individual" for Customs & Excise and “Next Generation Partner” for Trade, WTO Anti-Dumping And Customs. Clients describe her as "an outstanding customs lawyer and litigator with fantastic experience. She is also easy to work with and leads her team with aplomb", "without a doubt, one of the best customs lawyers in the business (…) with an exceptionally deep knowledge of customs valuation concepts, as well as considerable experience applying those concepts in a variety of jurisdictions."
Jennifer has been on secondment to the UK customs authorities (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) in their tax and excise litigation department and to the Firm's European Law Centre in Brussels.

• Website

Esteban Rópolo is a member of the Buenos Aires Bar Association. He was a professor in leading universities in Argentina — including University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Catholic University and Universidad del CEMA — where he taught political economy, foreign trade legal regime and private law. Mr. Rópolo has written a book on competition law and also contributed articles related to his areas of practice.

• Website

Andrew joined Baker McKenzie's London office as a trainee in 2015 and qualified in 2017. His practice concentrates on compliance with EU/UK trade regulations, as well as anti-bribery and antitrust. Andrew previously was previously seconded to Baker McKenzie's European Competition Law Practice in Brussels.

• Website

Ben Smith is a Partner in Baker McKenzie’s London office and a member of the firm’s Compliance & Investigations and International Trade practice groups. Both these practices are ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 UK. Ben joined the London office of Baker & McKenzie in September 2007. He has also worked in Baker McKenzie's San Francisco and Brussels offices, as well as on secondment to the legal and compliance teams at three FTSE 100 UK plcs. The Legal 500 UK ranked Ben as a “Rising Star”, noting “Ben Smith is a pleasure to work with. Professional, knowledgeable and always ready to assist with practical solutions.”

• Website

Eunkyung Kim Shin regularly advises multinational companies on complex international trade, regulatory compliance, customs and import law, and supply chain-related matters. She also counsels on cross-border compliance and commercial issues. Eunkyung has written on these topics for a number of publications, including WorldECR and Law360, and frequently speaks on these areas. She is a frequent contributor to Baker McKenzie's Sanctions & Export Controls Update, Global Supply Chain Compliance, and Import and Trade Remedies blogs. Eunkyung has been recognized as a "Next Generation Partner" member of Baker McKenzie's international trade team by Legal 500. Legal 500 reported a client as stating that, Eunkyung is "outstanding in giving practical and effective advice." She began her legal career as an associate with Baker McKenzie, and has been with the firm since 2013.

• Website

Christine Streatfeild is a Partner in the Washington DC Office and on the Steering Committee for the North America Trade Secrets Practice. She focuses on trade remedies and unfair competition cases, including forced labor investigations, antidumping and countervailing duty cases, safeguard measures, duties imposed for national security purposes (Section 232 duties), and Section 337 intellectual property and trade secrets disputes. She appears before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), US Department of Commerce (DOC), and in state and federal courts. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Christine served as the acting deputy director of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and in the Environment and Natural Resources division of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the Krieger School, Johns Hopkins University, where she taught Global Trade, Policy and Competition. She is also on the 2021 USMCA Dispute Settlement Panels Roster (on behalf of the United States), a position she has held since 2019 (under the NAFTA). Christine focuses her practice on matters related to trade regulatory and intellectual property matters, including economic injury and damages, import duty compliance, and unfair competition allegations.

• Website

Junko Suetomi is a partner in Baker McKenzie Tokyo. Prior to joining the Firm, she worked in the WTO Dispute Settlement Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Economic Bureau. She has also worked for a global law firm in Washington, DC and New York, and served as a court-appointed defense attorney in many criminal cases. Junko is recognized as a leading lawyer by Marquis Who's Who, Asia Business Law Journal, Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific, Best Lawyers, Who's Who Legal and other legal directories. She was the chair from 2019 to 2021 and now is vice chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Tokyo Bar Association and a part-time lecturer at Waseda University. She was a legal advisor to the Ministry of Finance Japan's Office of Trade Remedy Affairs, Tariff Policy and Legal Division, Customs and Tariff Bureau from 2016 to 2019. She has served as a bar examiner of the Ministry of Justice since November 2020. She has served as an expert member of the Ministry's Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions since 13 March 2019. She has served as an expert member of the Financial Services Agency's Financial System Council, Fund Settlement System Working Group since October 11, 2021. She also holds a Certificate in Business Analytics from the Harvard Business Analytics Program (March 2021).

• Website

Julia Webster is a disputes and international trade lawyer. She advises companies on trade remedies, free trade agreements, blocking measures, customs compliance, anti-corruption laws, economic sanctions, AML compliance, supply chain ethics, and cross-border M&A.

• Website

Arnoud Willems is a partner in the International Commercial & Trade Practice Group in the Brussels office. He joined Baker McKenzie in 2022. He has an extensive network, built over 25 years as a trusted advisor of entrepreneurs, executives, and diplomats. Arnoud has a deep understanding of how trade rules shape global flows of capital, investment, goods, technology, and services.

• Website