Mr Stephen Kho > Akin > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Lawyer Profile

International trade powerhouse Akin fields one of the most comprehensive practices in the market. Equally adept at representing companies, industries, and foreign governments, the Washington DC-based group combines strong skill sets in trade policy and trade remedies with an extensive global footprint that takes in platforms in key trade centers in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The group is commended for possessing ‘the manpower to tackle larger cases’, recently evidenced by Matthew Nicely‘s representation of HMTX Industries, and more than 100 additional plaintiffs, in a major challenge to the US government’s Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods—among the largest group of related cases ever brought before the US Court of International Trade (CIT). Stephen Kho fronts the trade policy team and is advising the Consumer Technology Association on trade policy issues impacting the consumer electronics industry, including Section 301 tariffs in multiple jurisdictions and laws affecting supply chain management. The deep bench also draws on Bernd Janzen, who acts for US and foreign clients across a range of trade litigation matters, up-and-coming trade litigator Yujin Kim McNamara, and Hal Shapiro a former Senior Advisor for International Economic Policy at the National Economic Council.

Akin regularly provide advice to governments and private sector clients on leveraging WTO rules to overcome market access barriers as well as providing support in designing frameworks that are WTO-compliant. The team not only handles WTO dispute settlement and trade policy and trade negotiations, but also has expertise in trade remedies, trade compliance, and national security and investment screening, Alan Yanovich, who heads the practice, is an ‘experienced lawyer’ with extensive knowledge of international trade and investment matters at the multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels. Jasper Helder’s clients rely on him to assist with developing and executing mitigation strategies for trade compliance. Other key team members include Stephen Kho, who handles matters related to trade policy and international dispute resolution, and Chiara Klaui, who advises clients on EU, Swiss and UK trade compliance and drafts and supports the implementation of policies and procedures.