Gregory Williams and Richard Smith, two former partners at Wiley, have joined Sidley as partners in the litigation practice group, the firm announced. Williams will join Sidley as co-leader of the global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice.

Josh Kagan, former assistant U.S. trade representative for labor affairs, has joined Kelley Drye as a special counsel in the international trade practice group, the firm announced. At USTR, Kagan worked on adopting and enforcing "internationally recognized labor rights," along with the "negotiation and implementation of labor provisions included in bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements."

Commerce Department attorney Savannah Maxwell announced her promotion to senior attorney at the agency's Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance. Maxwell joined Commerce in 2019, serving as a staff attorney for the past four years, said her LinkedIn announcement.

Neena Shenai, former senior legal director and chief counsel for global trade at medical technology giant Medtronic, has joined WilmerHale as a partner in the international trade, investment and market access practice group, the firm announced. Shenai's practice will center on economic sanctions, export controls and issues pertaining to global market navigation, the firm said. Before joining Medtronic, Shenai also worked as trade counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee during 2011-15.

Alexis Early, former partner at King & Spalding, has joined Jenner & Block as a partner in the Washington-based national security and crisis practice. Early's practice focuses on sanctions, trade and export controls, anti-money laundering, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and more, the firm said.

Robert Stein, former executive at supply chain logistics firm Mohawk Global, has joined Braumiller Consulting Group as vice president, according to his LinkedIn announcement. Stein said he will be working on foreign-trade zone, duty drawback, import/export compliance, Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, customs valuation and free trade agreement matters.

Anden Chow, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has joined litigation boutique MoloLamken as a partner in New York, the firm announced. Chow worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney for a decade, most recently working on prosecutions into "international financial crime," including "sanctions evasion, asset forfeiture, money laundering, cryptocurrency-related fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations," the firm said.

Former Bureau of Industry and Security chief counsel Opher Shweiki, who left the agency earlier this month (see 2402140065), joined Akin Gump as a partner in its Washington office, the firm announced Feb. 20. Akin said Shweiki will add “further depth” to its export controls, sanctions, national security and global investigations team.

Bureau of Industry and Security chief counsel Opher Shweiki left the federal government after over 25 years at DOJ and BIS, he said in a post on LinkedIn Feb. 14. He said he will start his “next adventure” next week. BIS didn’t immediately comment.

Bridget McGovern, former assistant secretary for trade and economic security at DHS, joined Squire Patton as a partner in the public policy practice, the firm announced. McGovern will focus on national security and trade issues, including reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. She worked for over two years at DHS, where she served as an agency representative to CFIUS and helped implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.