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Sanctions and Export Control

Our team includes lawyers who have negotiated and drafted EU and UN sanctions regimes and have decades worth of experience across the litigious, advisory and public policy spheres of sanctions and export controls.

We are a market leading Chambers & Partners Band 1 ranked sanctions team and are one of the few firms who advise on all aspects of sanctions and export controls practice in the UK and EU.

We regularly advise global corporates on multi-jurisdictional sanctions compliance and have successfully challenged sanctions designations for corporates and high net worth individuals in the courts

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Why choose our Sanctions and Export Control lawyers?

Choosing Fieldfisher means partnering with a law firm that stands at the forefront of sanctions and international trade law. Our unparalleled expertise transcends borders, offering clients a comprehensive understanding of UK, EU, and global sanctions regimes. Our team's strength lies in our holistic approach: not only do we offer bespoke advice on transactions and regulatory policies, but we also boast a formidable litigation team ready to represent your interests in UK and EU courts.

By putting our clients at the centre of everything we do, we ensure that your legal strategy is not just about managing risks, but seizing opportunities. With Fieldfisher, you gain more than legal expertise; you gain a strategic partner dedicated to navigating the complexities of international trade, empowering your business to thrive in a global marketplace.
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Wherever you are in the sanctions life-cycle, we can help. We advise on sanctions compliance, conduct internal audits and provide training to prevent breaches; we can help mitigate sanctions risks in complex merger activity; and we undertake contentious work before the UK and EU authorities, ranging from managing disclosures of breaches to challenging sanctions designations before the courts. Our market leading Economic and Commercial Crime team can also assist with criminal investigations and prosecutions of sanctions breaches.

Clients come to us as a one-stop shop for advice on multi-jurisdictional matters. We work closely with our offices throughout Europe and have close contacts with experts on US sanctions on both the contentious and non-contentious aspects of sanctions and trade restrictions.

Our expertise is valued by clients across industry sectors, including the financial services, energy and natural resources, automotive and technology sectors.

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Our extensive experience includes:

Advisory

  • Advised a major investment company in a comprehensive restructuring of Russian assets in their investment portfolio.
  • Assisted a major State-owned oil company in navigating UK, EU, US and Russian sanctions, and secured changes to key sanctions measures and Government guidance.
  • Advised an international organisation on the impact of UK and EU sanctions on assets worth billions of dollars
  • Assisted on disclosures to OFSI, and obtained a licence in three days with no ensuing fines, ensuring the survival of a £100 million company.
  • Advised a worldwide travel company on the impact of sanctions in Cuba, Myanmar and Iran
  • Conducted detailed assessments of the sanctions and export controls compliance risks for major organisations in the banking, automotive, energy and technology sectors, addressed gaps identified through the risk assessment and overhauled their sanctions and export controls compliance policies.
  • Provided training to organisations in the aviation and defence sectors to ensure risk-based sanctions compliance policies.
  • Provided sanctions policy support to governments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus in coordination with the UK Government.


Litigation


  • Successfully de-listed individuals and companies from EU, Canadian and Swiss sanctions regimes.
  • Represented clients on challenges to UK and EU sanctions listings before the relevant courts and brought some of the first post-Brexit sanctions designation challenges before the UK authorities.
  • Advised a major global telecommunications company on disclosure to enforcement authorities in the EU and US relating to potential sanctions violations, in conjunction with our US contacts.
  • Acted on behalf of a petrochemical company based in the Middle East in a multi-billion dollar claim related to contractual performance affected by the consequences of sanctions.

Export controls


  • Assisted a major UK reseller of IT equipment in managing the seizure by UK Border Force of goods for export on the grounds that they may have required an export licence as dual-use goods.
  • Overhauled the export control policies for a US-headquartered helicopter manufacturer to cover UK, EU and US considerations
  • Advised a worldwide logistics company on the unauthorised export of military items.



Chambers 2024

Fieldfisher's sanctions practice is ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners (2024).

Fieldfisher has a market-leading sanctions practice. The team works with clients in a range of sectors including energy, finance and aviation on everything from challenges to sanctions, sanction breaches and compliance. The group is equally at home when advising on UK and EU sanctions regimes.

Chambers & Partners 2024

Key contacts

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