Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office has hired an American law firm to advise on Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion and help engage with US officials on policy matters, according to a filing with the US Justice Department.
San Francisco-based Morrison & Foerster will counsel Zelenskyy’s office on regulatory issues “including US, EU and UK sanctions regimes,” John Smith, a partner in the firm, said in the Monday filing.
Smith led the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees American sanctions, before joining Morrison & Foerster in 2018. Smith said in the filing that Morrison & Foerster will perform the work at no cost to Ukraine.
The United States, European Union and Britain have imposed a series of sanctions targeting Russia, its financial institutions, oligarchs and parliament since Russia invaded Ukraine last month. The filing did not make clear whether there are specific sanctions about which the firm will provide advice.
The firm said it will help Zelenskyy engage with US officials on evolving policy matters, but did not provide specifics.
Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The wesbite of Morrison & Foerster displays a large Ukrainian flag and information about the firm’s capacity to offer advice on sanctions-related issues. The website also flags expertise in legal issues related to the seized property of Russian oligarchs.
US law requires law firms, lobbyists and others to disclose certain advocacy work for foreign clients. Morrison & Foerster has not previously registered to represent a foreign entity, according to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act database.
Ukraine’s government has hired at least two other US law firms following the Russian invasion.
Covington & Burling, headquartered in Washington, is representing Ukraine before the International Court of Justice, obtaining a ruling this month instructing Russia to stop its military operations. Attorneys at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, founded in Los Angeles, are representing Ukraine before the European Court of Human Rights in a case accusing Russia of human rights abuses.
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
Source: euractiv.com
