Aman Kakar, an international trade lawyer, has left his associate position at ArentFox to work as corporate counsel for global trade for Amazon, particularly for Amazon Web Services, according to Kakar's LinkedIn page. Kakar moved to terminate his access to business proprietary information in five cases at the Court of International Trade, indicating his departure from ArentFox. Kakar worked at the firm for six years, previously serving as a staff attorney at the Commerce Department.

Hagir Elawad, former official at the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington, D.C., joined Shumaker Advisors as senior vice president of federal affairs, the firm announced. At Shumaker, Elawad will take on a lead advocacy position, "managing government affairs teams and driving public policy solutions," the firm said. During her time in the UAE Embassy, Elawad worked on public affairs issues, including export controls, sanctions, defense, aviation and renewable energy, among other things, Shumaker said.

Global law firm Morgan Lewis announced that it opened a 34-member office in Seattle, including 19 lawyers. Fourteen of the attorneys come from litigation boutique firm Calfo Eakes, with Patty Eakes and Angelo Calfo co-leading the office. The firm said the new office will advise on matters relating to "commercial and intellectual property litigation, employment disputes, and white-collar criminal defense and investigation matters."

Sanctions and export controls attorney Susan Kovarovics, a former partner at Bryan Cave, has joined Akin Gump as an international trade partner in the Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced. Kovarovics' practice centers around compliance issues involving International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm said.

Ting-Ting Kao, an international trade attorney at White & Case, will be leaving the firm June 17, she said in a filing at the Court of International Trade. Kao has worked at the firm since 2008, where she started as an associate, then as counsel from 2020. Kao worked on classification, country of origin and multilateral trade agreements matters, among other things, the firm said.

Jeffery Denning, a partner at Cassidy Levy since 2015, has retired, Myles Getlan, another partner at the firm, said in an email.

Nadiya Nychay, former partner at Dentons, has joined Jones Day as a partner in its government regulation practice based in Brussels, the firm announced. Nychay covers matters involving the World Trade Organization, EU regulatory and trade proceedings and international trade disputes. She also counsels clients on international sanctions and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance, the firm said. Before joining Dentons, Nychay served as a legal officer in the Rules and Accessions Divisions at the WTO.

DOJ appointed Glenn Leon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise's ethics and compliance chief, to be the next head of the agency’s Fraud Section, an agency spokesperson said June 8. Leon will oversee the agency’s work in white-collar fraud and corruption, including violations and prosecutions involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor and served as a supervisor in DOJ’s securities fraud unit.

Ilene Albala, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, joined Goodwin as a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Healthcare practices, the firm announced. At DOJ, Albala was lead counsel for the government in False Claims Act qui tam cases. The firm said Albala will be joining other former federal prosecutors and DOJ officials at Goodwin who now defend FCA violations.

Scott Taylor, former partner at Miller & Company P.C. for over 23 years, has joined Sandler Travis as the leader of its foreign-trade zones practice area, the firm announced. Joining the New York office, Taylor will work on FTZ, international trade and customs cases, the firm said. At Miller & Company, Taylor helped structure over 550 FTZ projects, "including general-purpose zones and expansions, special-purpose subzones, subzone expansions, alternative site framework applications, boundary modifications, and scope determinations." He also served as a member of the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council for eight years.