Audi K. Syarief

Audi Syarief is a Senior Associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s International Trade Practice Group.

He advises clients on U.S. economic sanctions and export controls. Audi is experienced in assessing civil and criminal enforcement risk, conducting internal investigations, strengthening trade compliance programs, and developing restricted-party screening protocols. He routinely advocates before OFAC, BIS, and DDTC, and has secured licenses and approvals, filed voluntary self-disclosures, responded to administrative subpoenas, resolved enforcement matters, and engaged in various other agency-engagement efforts to further client interests. Audi also regularly conducts due diligence reviews on a full range of corporate transactions and financings from an international trade perspective, and frequently on behalf of private equity firms. He also advises on trade-related issues raised in civil litigation and arbitration matters.

Audi services both U.S. and non-U.S. clients, operating across economic sectors. He often advises on potential touchpoints with jurisdictions like Burma, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Syria. He is also well-versed in the application of sanctions authorizations and exemptions relating to telecommunications, information, and the internet (e.g., the Berman Amendment, General License D-2). He has helped social media platforms, firms in the virtual currency space, and numerous other companies understand, apply, and leverage these authorizations.

Audi maintains an active pro bono practice, representing non-profit clients on trade matters and successfully securing asylum for clients from El Salvador and Indonesia. He and his team were awarded “2023 Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year” by the Northern Virginia office of non-profit partner Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), and were nominated for Gibson Dunn’s “2023 Frank Wheat Memorial Award.” The D.C. Access To Justice Commission has named Audi to its annual Pro Bono Honor Roll each year, from 2016 through 2023.

In his spare time, Audi teaches a class on sanctions and export controls at Georgetown Law, and regularly publishes and speaks on these topics. Audi has served as the Chair of the Export Controls, Sanctions, and Anticorruption Subcommittee of the IBA’s International Commerce and Distribution Committee, and co-organized the Committee’s 2024 Specialist Conference in Washington, D.C. He has also advised Law360 on their international trade coverage as a member of the publication’s advisory board.

Informing his international trade practice is his prior work on civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, and government contract matters. Audi has litigated Cuba-related cases under the Helms-Burton Act, and advised on potential recovery and risks under the statute. He has helped secure the termination of a four-year SEC accounting fraud investigation of a global financial institution. He was also instrumental in negotiating with DOE a successful closeout of an energy company’s multi-million dollar cooperative agreement.

Audi previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review. Audi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, and in collaboration with the Institute for Domestic and International Affairs (IDIA), he organized Model United Nations conferences and other educational initiatives for high school students. He now serves on IDIA’s board of directors, and on the board of the Rutgers Alumni Association.

Appointments 

• Georgetown University Law Center – Adjunct Professor of Law
• Institute for Domestic and International Affairs – Board of Directors
• Rutgers Alumni of Association – Board of Directors
• International Bar Association – International Commerce and Distribution Committee – Chair of the Export Controls, Sanctions, and Anticorruption Subcommittee for 2024
• Law 360’s International Trade Editorial Advisory Board for 2022 and 2023
• Global Trade Academy 2024 – Faculty Member

Speaker Engagements

• Panelist, "Complying with Economic Sanctions: What You Need to Know," Allegheny County Bar Association (Aug. 28, 2024)
• Lecturer, “Economic Sanctions and Export Controls in an Age of Geopolitical Rivalry,” 2024 Global Trade Academy: The Law and Policy of International Trade (Apr. 16, 2024)
• Panelist, “Understanding U.S. Economic Sanctions on Cuba,” Miami-Dade Bar Association’s Florida Law Con (Apr. 12, 2024)
• Invited Speaker, “Global Sanctions Relating to Burma: Current State and What’s Next,” Burmese American Community Institute (BACI), Indianapolis, Indiana (Feb. 9, 2024)
• Invited Speaker, “U.S. Sanctions on Burma: An Overview from a Legal, Political, and Human Rights Perspective,” Asian American Bar Association (APABA) – Indiana Chapter, Indianapolis, Indiana (Feb. 9, 2024)
• Featured Speaker, “Guide to Complying with OFAC Sanctions Regulations,” The Knowledge Group (January 24, 2024)
• Panel Moderator, “Sanctions in the Era of the Russia-Ukraine War,” Georgetown University Law Center, 2023 Journal of National Security Law and Policy Symposium, Washington, DC (Mar. 8, 2023)
• Keynote Speaker, Philadelphia Model United Nations 2023 Conference: Exploring Development Through Diplomacy in Africa, Institute for Domestic and International Affairs, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Feb. 23, 2023)
• Invited Speaker, “Iran Sanctions: Current Events & Implications,” Iranian American Bar Association, Vienna, Virginia (Feb. 21, 2023)
• Panel Moderator, “Should I Stay or Should I Go Now: Navigating Global Sanctions on Russia,” the International Bar Association (Oct. 4, 2022)
• Featured Speaker, “OFAC Regulations and Economic Sanctions Compliance Programs: Best Practices,” The Knowledge Group (Sept. 29, 2022)
• Panelist, “2020 Sanctions and Export Controls Update,” Gibson Dunn Webcast (Oct. 15, 2020)

Coauthored Publications

• “BIS Final Rule on Voluntary Self-Disclosure Process and Penalty Guidelines Highlights Significant Export Control Violations and Higher Penalties,” NYU Law’s Compliance & Enforcement Blog (Sept. 23, 2024)
• “United States Expands Sanctions Authorization of Internet-Based Activities in Wake of Protests in Iran,” NYU Law’s Compliance & Enforcement Blog (Oct. 17, 2022)
• “United States creates new sanctions regime over humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia,” Financier Worldwide (Nov. 2021)
• “United States sanctions against Myanmar’s military conglomerates,” Financier Worldwide (Jun. 2021)
• “Sanctions Enforcement Trends In the Era of COVID-19,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation (Feb. 24, 2021)
• “Privilege – United States,” Global Investigations Review’s Know How (Nov. 2016)

Capabilities

• International Trade
• National Security
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• University of Virginia - 2015 Juris Doctor
• Rutgers University - 2011 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• District of Columbia Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, District of Columbia, Hon. Timothy Kelly, 2017 - 2018