Former Deputy Chief Counsel for Foreign Assets Control at US Treasury Department Joins Arent Fox in DC

Powered By LawFuel –Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its International Trade practice with the addition of Counsel Matthew Tuchband.

Mr. Tuchband, who has spent more than 20 years at the US Department of Treasury’s Office of the Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control) in the Office of the General Counsel, joins the firm’s Washington, DC office and will advise clients on all aspects of international trade with a focus on sanctions.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Matthew to Arent Fox,” said International Trade leader Kay C. Georgi. “As the longest serving sanctions legal expert at Treasury, Matthew was involved in almost every significant sanction development over the past two decades, including major shifts in sanctions policy on Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, among other countries. Matthew will significantly bolster our deep bench of international trade attorneys and will be a tremendous asset to our clients as they navigate fast changing U.S. and global economic sanctions.”

In his most recent role as Deputy Chief Counsel for Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department — which he held from 2005 to 2019 (including over one year as Acting Chief Counsel from April 2012 to August 2013) — Mr. Tuchband was responsible for overseeing a team of attorneys providing legal counsel and review of all economic sanctions actions of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). During his tenure at Treasury, Mr. Tuchband was deeply involved in many important sanctions developments, including the formation and evolution of the “50 percent” rule and the increasing use of “secondary sanctions.”

Mr. Tuchband is also considered one of the government’s primary experts on the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), having been involved in the drafting of more than 65 Executive orders, including recent Executive orders on Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea.

During his time at Treasury, Mr. Tuchband conducted detailed reviews of all OFAC-issued regulations, including all those published from 2005 to the present. He provided review and final legal sign-off on OFAC compliance, enforcement, licensing, designation, and delisting actions and worked closely with the Department of Justice on various cases brought against OFAC. Mr. Tuchband received the Secretary’s Honor Award, the Legal Division’s Excellence in Management Award, and several Meritorious Service Awards, among others.

Before joining federal government, Mr. Tuchband was an associate at Crowell & Morning LLP where he focused on export and transaction controls, customs, antidumping, and general litigation, including litigation strategy, pleadings, and depositions. He earned his JD, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center and his BA, cum laude, from Brandeis University.

Chambers Global recognizes Arent Fox’s International Trade practice and its attorneys as industry leaders. The group represents and advises domestic and foreign companies and government entities in a broad range of cross-border matters, including customs/import compliance, global trade policy, international trade litigation, international anti-corruption, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and export controls and sanctions.