Former Top Trump Trade Administration Official Kelly Ann Shaw Joins Akin as Lobbying & Public Policy Practice Partner

(Washington, D.C.) – Akin announced today that former senior Trump administration trade official Kelly Ann Shaw has joined the firm as a lobbying & public policy partner in Washington, D.C. As the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics during President Trump’s first term, Shaw was the highest-ranking international economic official in the White House and is recognized as one of the world’s leading international trade, global economics and national security advisors. Shaw joins the firm during an unprecedented period of activity on international trade policy and is well positioned to advise clients on a full range of trade policy issues.

As part of the first Trump administration, Shaw was a key architect for trade, investment, energy and national security policies while serving as the lead U.S. negotiator for the G7, G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as well as a key negotiator of the U.S.-China phase one deal. Prior to her role with the administration, she established herself as a leading authority on trade policy in Washington with prominent roles including trade counsel to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and assistant general counsel for the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently, she co-led Hogan Lovells’s geopolitical risk and national security program.

“We are delighted to welcome Kelly Ann. Her insight and experience will deliver a significant competitive advantage for clients as they navigate the increasingly complex intersections of international trade, supply chains, and geopolitics. Her legal and policy acumen will drive further synergies between our world class lobbying & public policy, international trade, and regulatory practices,” said Abid Qureshi, co-chair of Akin.

“Kelly Ann is a giant of the trade policy community. I am so excited to welcome her to our already market-leading public policy and international trade team,” said Brian Pomper, co-head of Akin’s lobbying & public policy practice. “Our clients will benefit from her first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of policymaking in the Trump Administration and her depth of experience advising on a wide range of issues – tariffs and trade, geopolitics, national security, energy and supply chain policies.”

“Akin’s platform is unmatched in not only helping clients understand and navigate the gravity of the current political and economic landscape but, more critically, in actively helping to shape those outcomes. This is a once-in-a-generation moment. We are quite literally living through history in which global supply chains, trading relationships and the global financial system will look fundamentally different in four years than they do today,” said Shaw on her move to the firm. “I am thrilled to join both new and former colleagues and friends to help clients during this time of dramatic change in Washington and in markets around the world.”

Shaw is the latest addition to the firm’s lobbying & public policy practice, with Akin having added former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a key architect of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as well as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; Joe Donnelly, former U.S. Congressman and Senator from Indiana and former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See; David Schweitert, former Senate Commerce Committee staff director and senior aide to Senate Majority Leader John Thune; and Cara Morrow, a trade policy official with decades of experience across administrations, serving most recently as senior advisor to the USTR and previously as deputy assistant USTR during the first Trump administration.

About Akin’s Lobbying & Public Policy Practice

Our renowned lobbying & public policy practice integrates a top lobbying practice within a full-service law firm. Our bipartisan group comprises more than 75 lawyers and other professionals focused exclusively on representing clients before the federal government on legislative, policy and regulatory matters.

Our team includes former members of Congress and other lawyers and professionals with considerable government service experience who also engage in political activities for both major U.S. political parties. With this formidable experience, we help clients with advocacy and building relationships with key leaders and staff throughout Congress and the executive branch.

About Akin’s International Trade Practice

Akin’s renowned international trade practice guides clients through the strategic decisions, regulatory frameworks, and disputes that shape how goods, services and technologies move around the world. The practice is among the largest, most distinguished and most geographically diverse in the world.

Akin’s team includes former high-ranking national security and foreign policy officials from the departments of Justice, Commerce, State, Treasury, Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the USTR, White House and Congress. With lawyers and advisors located in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the team brings a global perspective to clients’ matters.

The firm’s broader regulatory section has more than 130 professionals covering antitrust, communications, cybersecurity, financial services, environmental, government procurement, health care, international trade, privacy and transportation issues.

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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