Seven attorneys and two international trade professionals, all from McDermott Will, joined Blank Rome's international trade practice group in Washington. The new lawyers are partners Joanne Osendarp and Eric Parnes, senior counsel Lynn Kamarck and Alan Kashdan, of counsel Conor Gilligan, and associates Tyler Kimberly and Brendan Saslow. Also joining are Jorge Miranda as trade economic adviser and Deborah Flinn as international trade manager, both from McDermott Will. Osendarp will co-chair the practice group with Anthony Rapa. The attorneys' practices involve trade remedy cases, export controls and sanctions proceedings and False Claims Act litigation, among other things, Blank Rome said.

Holland & Knight added 17 attorneys -- seven partners, two senior counsel and eight associates -- from Mexican law firm Sanchez DeVanny to its Mexico City and Monterrey offices. The new lawyers primarily focus on international trade and corporate law issues, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Holland & Knight said.

Two attorneys with Sandler Travis, Sarah Yuskaitis and Joshua Rodman, were promoted to members, the firm announced. Yuskaitis joined Sandler Travis in 2017 and primarily advises clients on antidumping and countervailing duty and trade remedies proceedings. Rodman joined the firm in 2019 and centers his practice on export controls and sanctions compliance.

Nasim Fussell, former top trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, has left Holland & Knight for Lot Sixteen, a public relations and lobbying firm. Fussell wrote in her bio at Lot Sixteen: "As a trade partner in a big Washington law firm, I represented corporate, trade association and government clients on trade policy and regulatory issues across the spectrum. Having been in my clients’ shoes during my own time in the corporate and trade association worlds, I understood how to make them happy." Fussell joined Lot Sixteen as senior vice president this month, according to her LinkedIn bio.

David Vance Lucas, former head of Bradley Arant's international practice group, has joined Womble Bond as a partner in the Corporate and Securities Group, the firm announced. Lucas' practice will center on his experience providing advice on intellectual property, international trade and complex litigation matters, the firm said. Specifically, Lucas has worked on proceedings involving foreign direct investment, export controls and data protection throughout the U.S. and Europe and before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

Thomas Feddo, former assistant Treasury secretary for investment security, joined Patomak Global Partners as a senior adviser. Feddo will advise on "sanctions and foreign investment-related risks for domestic and international conglomerates and financial institutions," the firm said this week. Feddo served at Treasury from 2018 to 2021, where he led the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

Candace Goforth, former policy director for the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, joined Content Enablers as the practice lead of its trade advisory services. Goforth, who said she will close her practice at Goforth Trade Advisors, will manage Content Enablers’ export compliance consultants and will advise clients on compliance programs, jurisdiction and classification assessments, submitting license applications and more, the company said.

DOJ will add more than 25 new prosecutors to "investigate and prosecute sanctions evasion, export control violations and similar economic crimes," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said during a March 2 American Bar Association conference. Monaco also said the agency's National Security Division and the Commerce and Treasury departments will begin issuing joint advisories on national security enforcement trends, and DOJ will make a "substantial investment" in the Bank Integrity Unit -- part of the Criminal Divisions' Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. Monaco's comments came the same day another DOJ official said the agency plans to add a "significant number" of export control prosecutors, including a new chief counsel for corporate enforcement (see 2303030035).

Kristy Balsanek, former general counsel for global grocery retailer Lidl US, has joined DLA Piper as a Washington, D.C.-based partner in its regulatory and government affairs practice group, the firm announced. Balsanek's practice will focus on environmental, social and governance-related risk areas, which the firm describes as "business ethics, corporate governance, director/officer duties, anti-corruption, sanctions, labor and human rights, global supply chain transparency, climate change, green initiatives, environmental marketing, privacy and data protection among many others."

Former Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting fellow, the think tank announced. He will focus on expanding free trade, U.S.-China relations, U.S.-Russia relations and the war in Ukraine, as well as some domestic issues. Before serving in the Senate, Portman was a U.S. trade representative during the George W. Bush administration, and headed the Office of Management and Budget during that administration, as well.