We are pleased to announce that Akrivis Law Group, PLLC has authored a chapter in this year’s Global Investigations Review (GIR) Guide to Sanctions. The chapter, entitled Representing Designated Persons: A US Lawyer’s Perspective, was co-authored by Managing Partner Farhad Alavi (Washington, DC) and Partner Sam Amir Toossi (New York) and covers key topics in representing sanctioned entities and parties operating in heavily sanctioned countries, including licensing, SDN List removal, payments, and other considerations. The topics addressed in this chapter, updated to reflect developments of the last year and insights gained, has become even more relevant as the US government increasingly uses sanctions to effectuate its foreign policy. This reading is essential for any practitioner seeking to navigate an ever-complex, fluid sanctions landscape. This chapter is publicly available and can be found here.
One of the preeminent trade and white collar professional groups in the world, GIR is based in London and has a global membership. Its annual The Guide to Sanctions and The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations are considered authoritative references in this space. The Fourth Edition of The Guide to Sanctions includes other pieces by similarly prominent sanctions counsel from the United States and elsewhere.
Akrivis Law Group, PLLC is a boutique law firm with offices in Washington, DC, New York, and Miami, and an affiliate office in Tokyo. The firm advises clients around the world on sanctions, export controls, and customs compliance and represents clients in white collar defense matters, cross-border transactions, and dispute resolution. This includes representing clients listed by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as specially designated nationals and blocked persons (SDNs) and entities on the various lists maintained by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS), including the Entity List and Unverified List. The firm recently celebrated the removal of two clients, both former bankers, from the SDN List. Akrivis’s senior lawyers have worked at some of the world’s most prestigious firms and all the firm’s staff have lived and/or worked abroad, giving the team unique insights and experience that assist the firm in providing excellent representation to demanding clients around the globe.
 | Farhad Alavi (Partner, Washington) practices primarily on complex trade issues related to compliance with and enforcement of U.S. national security, including sanctions, export controls, customs, anti-corruption, as well as cross-border transactions, and banking matters. |
 | Sam Amir Toossi (Partner, New York) heads the firm’s White Collar Defense and Commercial Litigation practice. Mr. Toossi has nearly 20 years of litigation experience as a commercial litigator, a state and federal prosecutor, and an in-house attorney at a major company. |