Akin Trade Group Profiled for Law360 ‘Practice Groups of the Year’

Last month, Akin's international trade group was named by Law360 among its Practice Groups of the Year in the International Trade category (learn more here). Law360 has now published a profile of the practice.

Among the outstanding work performed by Akin's trade practitioners, Law360 counted “major victories in a rocky regulatory environment in 2022, including wins for U.S. industry groups and Chinese companies navigating tightening export controls, crackdowns in the Xinjiang region and solar cell investigations.”

Regarding the practice’s strengths in helping clients doing business in and with China, regulatory practice head Tom McCarthy said, “The position of the firm on China issues, given the geopolitical importance of China to trade relations and the global economy, has been absolutely essential.”

One example is the team’s work with Chinese telecom giant ZTE as the client sought to navigate a probation period begun in 2017 after it signed a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The company was released from its probation in March.

Trade practice leader Jonathan Poling said of the engagement, “The company has made enormous changes to itself over a number of years and really is trying to place compliance at the heart of it. We were fortunate to have a client that wants to tell that story and is proud of the work they've done.”

The profile also features the firm’s work with global manufacturing OFILM Group Co. Ltd. in getting a subsidiary taken off the Commerce Department’s Entity List. It had been placed on the list based on allegations it was involved in human rights abuses involving forced-labor programs in China’s Xinjiang region.

Trade partner Nnedi Ifudu said of the practice’s work on behalf of OFILM, “We certainly made it clear that the company, groupwide, had [gotten] religion on human rights issues and labor laws, in particular. The bottom line message was: You've been successful in causing this company to change its behavior.” She also attributed the result, in part, to the Akin team’s persistence in engaging with Commerce Dept.: “They have a lot on their plate, and so it's not enough to have a compelling argument. You have to be persistent in emailing and calling.”

The team’s success on behalf of the Solar Energy Industries Association is also noted in the profile.

Subscribers can read the full profile here.