Ziad is an associate based in Akin’s Dubai office, where he focuses on U.S. economic sanctions, export controls, customs enforcement and regulatory litigation. He regularly advises clients on compliance with regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), including securing licenses, submitting delisting petitions and responding to enforcement inquiries.

Ziad represents clients in matters involving designation by OFAC and BIS, including the preparation and submission of applications for removal from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), the Entity List and the Unverified List. He has represented clients in federal court through mandamus actions and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation to compel agency action or obtain records in delayed or contested proceedings.

In the export controls space, Ziad has prepared Commodity Classification Requests and Commodity Jurisdiction Determinations and advises on complex licensing questions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). He also counsels clients on customs enforcement, particularly in connection with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

Prior to joining Akin, Ziad was an associate at another major international law firm in the District of Columbia.