Stephen Kho > Akin > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Akin Offices
Robert S. Strauss Tower
2001 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006-1037
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Stephen Kho
Work Department
Partner; International Trade
Position
Stephen Kho focuses on trade and investment policy, and dispute resolution, including WTO and other international proceedings, such as investor-state arbitration under free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties. He represents companies and governments on matters ranging from market access and trade negotiations, to non-tariff barriers and public international law. Steve serves as the partner-in-charge of the firm’s Geneva office.
To learn more about Steve, please visit his full profile: https://www.akingump.com/en/lawyers-advisors/stephen-s-kho.html
Career
Associate General Counsel and acting Chief Counsel on China enforcement, Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR); Lead USTR attorney on intellectual property and government procurement matters. Led US delegation in WTO and NAFTA dispute settlement proceedings. Legal advisor at the US Mission to the WTO in Geneva.
Education
LLM, Georgetown University Law Center, with distinction, (1998); JD, University of Maryland School of Law, with honors, (1995); BA, University of Virginia, with honors, (1991).
Lawyer Rankings
Switzerland > WTO
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.
United States > International trade and national security > Trade remedies and trade policy
(Leading lawyers)‘Uniquely deep on trade, investment, and national security issues’, Akin houses a full-service international trade practice that is routinely involved in high-stakes trade remedy litigation and trade policy matters. The Washington DC-based group acts for domestic industries, as well as foreign producers and exporters, in many of the most closely watched cases to come to market. In a highlight example, Matthew Nicely is representing HMTX, and over 100 additional plaintiffs, in the marquee challenge to the US government’s Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods. In another high-profile case, Bernd Janzen is acting alongside next-generation partner Yujin Kim McNamara to represent the Government of British Columbia in a long-running series of countervailing duty proceedings and managed trade agreements involving US imports of softwood lumber from Canada. Other go-to trade litigators include Stephen Kho, who is a former acting chief counsel on China enforcement at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR); and Hal Shapiro, who has had several government-side roles, including a stint as Senior Advisor for International Economic Policy at the National Economic Council. At junior level, ‘strong counsel’ Sarah Kirwin is a key name.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading lawyers United States > International trade and national security > Trade remedies and trade policy
- Trade remedies and trade policy United States > International trade and national security
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Government > Government relations
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- International trade and national security > Trade remedies and trade policy
Firm Rankings
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Industry focus > Education
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Industry focus > Native American law
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Government > Government contracts
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: middle-market (Up to $500m)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Finance > Project finance
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Industry focus > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism