Judith A. Lee is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm’s International Trade and Regulation Compliance Practice Group. Ms. Lee practices in the areas of international trade regulation, including USA Patriot Act compliance, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, economic sanctions and embargoes, export controls, customs, international privacy issues, international intellectual property issues and international labor issues.
Ms. Lee was selected by Chambers and Partners as a Leading International Trade Lawyer in 2007 – 2011 in its Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business Guide and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America® guide for 2006 – 2012. She has been included in The International Who’s Who of Trade and Customs Lawyers for 2009 – 2011 and The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers 2012. Ms. Lee is also included in Euromoney's 2007 and 2008 “Guide to the World's Leading International Trade Lawyers,” U.S. Section. In 2006, Ms. Lee was named by the Washington Business Journal as one of the Best Lawyers in the Washington, D.C. area for International Trade and Finance Law and was named by The Washington Post as one of Washington D.C.'s Super Lawyers for 2011. Ms. Lee was chosen by the Ethisphere Institute as one of three of the 2010 “Attorneys Who Matter” in the field of Trade/Export Compliance, on the basis of counsel “who are best prepared to handle any issue around their particular specialty.” She has also been named as a Top Attorney by DC Magazine for 2010 and by SuperLawyers for 2011.
Ms. Lee currently serves on the International Law Advisory Board for Strafford Publications. She is the Chair of the International Sales Subcommittee on Export Controls, Sanctions and Anti-Corruption of the International Bar Association and serves as an officer of the International Bar Association's International Sales Committee. Ms. Lee is the past Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Export Controls and Embargoes, and was a past chair of the American Bar Association Customs Law Committee. Ms. Lee was appointed by the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade to that court's Rules Advisory Committee and Jurisdiction Committee. She is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Customs and International Trade Bar Association.
In 1992, Ms. Lee was licensed by the Department of the Treasury as a customshouse broker, having received the highest score in the country on the customshouse broker's examination that year, administered by the United States Customs Service.
Ms. Lee is a member of the Bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Ms. Lee received her law degree in 1987 from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary and her bachelor of arts in 1984 from Mount Holyoke College, where she studied Chinese and politics. In 1983 and 1984, she attended Donghai University in Taiwan, where she studied Chinese language, culture and politics. Ms. Lee is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She is a member of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Diversity Committee.
Publications
Lee, Judith A. and Doody, James, “Office of Foreign Assets Controls Compliance: Recent Developments,” The Banking Law Journal, November/December 2011
Lee, Judith A. and Doody, James, “Office of Foreign Assets Control: The Little Agency with a Big Bite,” The Review of Banking & Financial Services, August 2011
Lee, Judith A. and Doody, James, “2010: OFAC's Big Year,” Law360.com, March 2011
Lee, Judith A. and Noonan, Linda, “Bank Secrecy, Money Laundering, and Terrorist Financing,” International Enforcement Law Reporter, December 2010
Lee, Judith A. and Slear, James D., "OFAC Uses New Enforcement Tools Against Foreign Bank," The Export Practitioner, November 2009
Lee, Judith A., West, Joseph D., Brennan, Christyne, Wharwood, Dave M., and Speice, Patrick F., "National Security Implications of Foreign Investment in U.S. Government Contractors," Briefing Papers Second Series, West Group - Thomson West, 2007
Lee, Judith A. and Plaine, Daniel J., "Making Way For International Business Integrity And Compliance Due Diligence In Cross-Border Acquisitions," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, May 2007
Lee, Judith A. and Slear, James D., "Beware of OFAC: A little-known agency poses challenges to international finance," International Financial Law Review, September 2006
Lee, Judith A. and Slear, James D., "Special problems concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the People's Republic of China," IBA Legal Practice Division, Litigation Committee Newsletter, September 2006
Lee, Judith A. and Slear, James D., "Doing Business in China: Unique Corruption Compliance Concerns and Strategies," Washington Legal Foundation, Contemporary Legal Note Series, Number 51, August 2006
Lee, Judith A., West, Joseph D., and Monahan, Jason A., "U.S. Export Control Compliance Requirements for Government Contractors," Briefing Papers, Thomson-West, November 2005
Lee, Judith A., "Exclusion of Infringing Products from Importation and Other International Trade Remedies," Intellectual Property Law - Damages and Remedies, 2004
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, CLE-credit program “OFAC Regulatory Overview,” for McDonald’s Corporation’s Legal Department, May 6, 2011
ACI’s 4th National Forum on OFAC Enforcement & Compliance Conference, "OFAC Investigations, Penalties and Settlements for Non-Regulated Entities and Individuals," April 28, 2011
ACI’s 2nd China Summit on Export Controls Compliance, "Getting EAR Jurisdiction Right: How to Classify Under the CCL, ECCN's, de minimus and More," and "Preventing Encryption Pitfalls: How to Incorporate China and U.S. Restrictions Into Your Export Program," April 12-13, 2011
The Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, Gibson Dunn Hosted Program, March 8, 2011
Ethisphere Institute Webinar on July 29, 2010 on "OFAC Sanctions: A Mid-Year Review," highlighting the significant developments in OFAC sanctions during the first half of 2010 and touching on current legislative and executive developments; co-presenter: Jim Slear
Canadian Bar Association's Foreign Investment Review Committee Conference, “The Investment Canada Act: New Law and Policy,” in Toronto, June 4, 2010.
ACI's 3rd National Forum on OFAC Enforcement & Compliance, "Fundamentals of Compliance with U.S. Economic Laws: OFAC Programs Demystified," April 28, 2010
Strafford Publications teleseminar, "FCPA Compliance in Joint Ventures," April 21, 2010
ACI's 5th National Forum on Export Enforcement & Investigations, "The Fallout from FCPA Cases: Minimizing Increased Risks of Crossover Government Export Investigations," January 29, 2010
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s webinar, "Foreign Asset Control Compliance in Domestic and International Transactions," October 6, 2009
Council on Foreign Relations Corporate Program, Presider, "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Challenges and Developments in Emerging Markets," in Washington, DC, September 24, 2009
American Conference Institute's India Summit on Anti-Corruption Compliance and Enforcement, Presenter, Workshop on "Fundamentals of FCPA Compliance: Navigating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act," in Mumbai, India, June 2, 2009
American Conference Institute's "2nd National Forum on OFAC Enforcement and Compliance," Panel Moderator on "Facilitation: What is it and How to Minimize Risks," Washington, DC, April 21, 2009
Northern Virginia Technology Council and Administrative Committee of Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area, presentation on U.S.-China Trade Issues, in Tysons Corner, Virginia, October 23, 2008
The 2008 New England Women's Global Leadership Conference, presentation on International Law, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, September 27, 2008
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s seminar (teleconference) on "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Voluntary Disclosures," September 16, 2008
Women in Regulatory Law (WIRL) Symposium on "Challenges in International Security," panel moderator for "The Role of Economic Sanctions in International Security," in Washington, D.C. at the Museum of Women in the Arts, June 18, 2008
American Conference Institute's "OFAC Enforcement and Compliance National Forum," panel on "Facilitation: What Is It, and How to Minimize Risks," in Washington, D.C., June 17, 2008
American Conference Institute's 3rd National Forum on Export Enforcement & Investigations, "M&A Due Diligence: Reducing the Risk of Successor Liability," January 31, 2008
Ethisphere webcast on "Exporting Technology and High-Tech: Your Responsibilities Under U.S. Export Control Laws," October 9, 2007
Aviation Week's "Defense Suppliers' Forum," Export Controls panel, on Commodity Jurisdiction issues, June 4, 2007
American Conference Institute's 10th National Forum on Export Controls, "Foreign Nationals: Managing U.S. Restrictions on Dual Nationals and Complying with EU Privacy Laws," May 16, 2007
Women in International Regulatory Law Symposium's "International Regulatory Law as a Positive Force for Change," Post-Symposium Panel on "Revolving Doors: Charting an Ethical Career Path in International Law," April 25, 2007
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s seminar (teleconference) on "Foreign Asset Control Compliance in Domestic and International Transactions: Avoiding Penalties Absent Clear Government Guidance," April 17, 2007
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s seminar (teleconference) on "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Staying Out of the Government's Crosshairs," January 25, 2007
Executive Enterprise Institute (EEI) and Credit Union Times (CUT) conference on "Complying with the Bank Secrecy Act/USA Patriot Act" on topic OFAC Update 2006, December 14, 2006
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s seminar (teleconference) on "Assuring Foreign Assets Control Compliance in Domestic and International Transactions," September 13, 2006
Strafford Publications, Inc.'s seminar (teleconference) on "Assuring Foreign Assets Control Compliance in Domestic and International Transactions," June 7, 2006
NACM (National Association of Credit Management), seminar (teleconference) on sanctions issues, February 9, 2004