Arent Fox has appointed Riyaz Dattu to lead its Canada legal practice, the latest in a series of hires as the US law firm expands its international trade and investment practice.

Dattu has more than 35 years of experience in the space, and has previously founded and led the international trade and investment law practices at two major Canadian law firms. He is also on the Canadian government’s roster of panelists for the Nafta Chapter 19 bi-national dispute resolution process, now Chapter 10 of the USMCA.

He joins Arent Fox after 14 years at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt, where he advised multinational and domestic businesses on international trade policy and investment matters, international trade strategies and market access concerns.

In his new role, Dattu will continue to represent and advise multinationals with a Canadian presence and some of Canada’s most prominent companies on their operations in the US and around the world.

Welcoming him to the role, Kay Georgi, international trade and investment leader at Arent Fox, says: “Riyaz is a top adviser on trade and investment treaty provisions within the USMCA, the Energy Charter, the recently negotiated CETA, the CPTPP, and other free trade agreements, investment contracts, and bilateral investment protection treaties. He will be a great asset to our international trade clients and a key addition to our longstanding and growing counseling work for Canadian companies. We are happy to be welcoming Riyaz to the team.”

Dattu joins nine partners and two counsel that Arent Fox has added so far this year, including international law partner David Tafuri in Washington, DC, and customs and trade law partner Angela Santos in New York.