Mehlman Castagnetti hired Alex Perkins, who was most recently senior manager of international government affairs at Stellantis, previously known as Fiat Chrysler, the lobbying firm said in a June 8 news release. “A top expert in trade, customs and supply chain policy, Perkins developed and executed a government relations and public affairs strategy to guide the Fortune 500 automaker through the NAFTA/USMCA renegotiations and helped lead the multi-sector USMCA business coalition,” the firm said. Before joining the auto industry, Perkins was counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee and for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Aviation attorney Jonathon Foglia has joined Cozen O'Connor's transportation and trade practice in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced. Foglia advises airline clients on licensing requirements, competition issues and multilateral treaties.

Joshua Snead, who has worked for Republicans on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee for more than five years, has been promoted to chief trade counsel, since longtime chief trade counsel Angela Ellard is headed to a deputy director-general position at the World Trade Organization. Before going to Ways and Means, Snead was an associate for King & Spalding’s International Trade Group, and worked for the National Pork Producers Council on trade policy.

The National Foreign Trade Council hired Ben Wastler, previously a lawyer at CBP, as senior director for international supply chain policy, the trade group said in a news release. "In his new role, he will help NFTC expand its capacity on customs, international trade-related regulatory issues, and key supply chain issues including counterfeiting, product safety, labor rights policies and illicit trade, trade facilitation, customs best practices, and other policies to support the resilience and stability of global supply chains," it said.

Dave Stetson, former senior lawyer at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Steptoe & Johnson's International Trade and Regulatory Compliance Group as a partner in the New York office, the firm announced in a June 1 news release. Stetson previously served as the lead sanctions lawyer for Goldman Sachs' global business lines. At OFAC, Stetson was an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Chief Counsel, where he conducted reviews for OFAC licenses and advised on the drafting of sanctions statutes, executive orders and regulations.

Arent Fox tapped Canadian international trade lawyer Riyaz Dattu for its New York office, expanding the firm's International Trade and Investment practice, the group announced. Dattu will advise “multinationals with Canadian presence” and Canadian companies on their operations in the U.S. and globally.

Benjamin L. England & Associates along with consulting group FDAImports.com hired Andrew Harrison to both firms to expand their practice of FDA law, regulation and enforcement, a May 20 news release said. Harrison joins as a senior attorney; he previously was general counsel and group compliance officer for PharMEDium Services and its associated FDA-registered 503B outsourcing facilities.

David Peyman, former deputy assistant secretary of state for counter threat finance and sanctions in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, joined DLA Piper's Washington office as of counsel in the International Trade practice, the firm announced May 20. At the State Department, Peyman managed 25 sanctions programs and built the first economic sanctions targeting team. He also led the Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures, which roots out terrorist financing.

Vedder Price hired Brent Connor, previously in the Transportation and International Trade groups at Thompson Hine, as a shareholder to its International Trade and Compliance practice group in the firm's Washington office, according to a May 20 press release.

Arent Fox is launching a Forced Labor team led by Angela Santos to assist companies in implementing forced labor compliance procedures, the firm announced in a May 12 alert. Given CBP's increased focus on forced labor in global supply chains, the need for proper import compliance and supply chain due diligence is at an all-time high. The new team seeks to help with that compliance and offers other services such as protests and petitions for release of seized merchandise, forced labor codes of conduct, supplier forced labor agreements, supply chain evaluations, customs questionnaires, forced labor audits and protest, forfeiture and customs penalty cases, according to the alert.