Export Compliance and Audits: How to Minimize Risks in 2016 and Beyond

Steven Brotherton manages Fragomen's Export Controls Practice Group. He counsels clients on export control regulations and handles matter ranges from investigations and enforcement actions to the development of compliance programs, export licensing, classification, and audits.  At the start of his career, he was in-house at The Boeing Company working on export control matters before joining Fragomen in 2001.  Mr. Brotherton is a member the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee and is also the Co-Chair of TechAmerica's Export Control Reform Subcommittee. In connection with audits, Steven has conducted a number of audits including a number of DDTC directed audits, global audits covering domestic and foreign locations, and audits used successfully as mitigation in both criminal and civil government investigations. 

George is a principal with KPMG LLP’s U.S. Trade and Customs Practice based in the firm’s Atlanta office and KPMG’s Trade and Customs Southeast Regional Leader.  George has over 13 years of experience managing trade compliance and identifying efficiencies through implementation of effective controls.

George is responsible for assisting a broad range of U.S. multi-national and foreign-owned clients in industries including electronics and communications, mining, defense, automotive and retail and has experience with a wide variety of complex trade matters.  George has extensive knowledge in U.S. export regulations, particularly in the areas of EAR and ITAR process development and compliance assessments, OFAC compliance and AES reporting.  George has also managed large customs and export related projects and has assisted companies to identify various customs savings opportunities.  

Giovanna M. Cinelli is a partner at Dentons US LLP in their Tysons Corner, Virginia office where she chairs the Firm's Export Controls and National Security practice.  She counsels defense and high technology companies on a broad range of issues affecting national security, including export compliance, CFIUS reviews and classified investigations.  She has practiced for over 25 years handling dozens of complex civil and criminal investigations (both unclassified and classified), transactional due diligence, export licensing and interpretations, and negotiation of export enforcement settlements.

Ms. Cinelli also serves as an expert witness on export issues affecting litigations and arbitrations involving controlled goods, technologies, data and services. Her testimony has addressed complicated, multinational licensing and compliance issues related to the conduct of discovery and trial proceedings in the United States and abroad.  Ms. Cinelli was listed in Chambers Lawyers Research as a specialist in export compliance, a 2014 Chambers USA "Leader in Their Field" for export controls and sanctions, a Chambers Global 2015 expert, as well as a 2012-2014 Washington, DC "Super Lawyer."  She is currently Chairman of Women in Aerospace, the United States' premier non-profit organization focused on addressing leadership and educational opportunities for women in the aerospace and aviation fields.

She has worked extensively with the Departments of State, Commerce, Defense and Treasury, as well as Energy and the military services.  She was a member of the Department of State's Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) from 1992 through 2008, holding the position of Vice Chair from 2006 through 2008.  She was reappointed to the DTAG in 2014.  She served on the Department of Commerce's Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) for 8 years, ending her tenure as Vice Chair.  She has been a member of the Virginia/DC District Export Council since 2011 and is currently serving her second term.

Ms. Cinelli has lectured and written extensively on international arms trades, technology transfer and export issues, with two book chapters and dozens of scholarly articles to her credit.  She has appeared on CNN's Burden of Proof and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews as an expert in international technology transfer, arms exports and related national security issues.  In addition to her legal career, Ms. Cinelli served as a Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer specializing in former Soviet submarine platforms and international security issues.  She holds a Masters in international relations from the College of William and Mary and an Executive Education Certification in National Security and International Security from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  She graduated from Catholic University School of Law where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Journal.  She is fluent in Italian and French and lives with her family in Virginia. 

Damara Chambers is a special counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Covington & Burling LLP. Her practice focuses on national security law, cross-border investment issues and the application of international trade controls. Ms. Chambers advises companies on compliance and enforcement matters relating to US export controls administered by the Departments of State, Commerce, and Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, economic sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury, and import and licensing requirements imposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. She also has extensive experience handling complex regulatory matters relating to international investment and mergers, including advising foreign and domestic clients in successful national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and advising companies regarding the mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) under national industrial security regulations administered by the Defense Security Service (DSS) and Department of Energy.