Ariana is an associate in the firm’s international trade practice advising clients on various international trade, enforcement and compliance issues related to U.S. export control and economic sanctions and customs matters. She also advises on matters involving international trade policy and anti-money laundering.

Prior to joining Akin, she served as a litigation and compliance counsel to a boutique firm advising U.S. and international clients on compliance with OFAC regulations, the Expert Administration Regulations (EAR), anti-money laundering laws and Anti-Boycott requirements, including licensing, reporting and risk assessments. Previously, Ariana served as the inaugural judicial law clerk to the Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York. Earlier in her legal career, she was a litigation and internal investigations associate for a large global law firm.

Ariana received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she served as the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of Race and Law, a student attorney in the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, and engaged in several pro bono projects, including the Rightslink Caravan: Human Rights Monitoring in Lebanon. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics and Government from American University, where she served as the president and co-founder of the Persian Student Alliance.