Law firm Akin has hired former chief counsel to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Jason Prince as a partner in its international trade team, based in Washington, DC.

Prince, who starts with immediate effect, will advise a range of clients including exporters, multinational firms and financial institutions on global trade compliance and enforcement matters.

He brings particular experience in OFAC’s sanctions regulations, the US government’s Export Administration Regulations and other regimes, such as for controls on military and defence exports.

“Jason’s arrival strengthens our powerhouse team, which is perfectly positioned to advise clients in today’s rapidly evolving geopolitical environment,” says Akin chairperson Kim Koopersmith.

Prince has “extensive” experience in global sanctions and export controls, including in the emerging areas of fintech and virtual currency, “that are increasingly relevant to the market”, Koopersmith says.

Prince makes the switch after a 15-month stint at Crowell and Moring, where since early 2023, he served as a partner in the firm’s international trade and financial services practices, also based in Washington, DC.

Prior to this, he spent over two years as OFAC’s chief counsel, where he led the implementation and enforcement of sanctions programmes against nations including Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

In the post, Prince also oversaw the legal design of new sanctions and led a review of “all major OFAC enforcement, compliance, licensing, litigation and regulatory actions”, Akin says in a statement.

He is the latest addition to Akin’s international trade team, after Opher Shweiki, a former colleague of Prince’s and ex-chief counsel for the US government’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), joined in February.

“Together, as chief counsels, they closely collaborated on the legal review of export controls and economic sanctions regulations during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This reunion allows Akin to provide clients with the insights of the immediate-past chief counsels of both BIS and OFAC,” Akin says.