Sanctions
Expert

Sanctions Expertise

Hal Eren, the Founding and Managing Partner of The Eren Law Firm in Washington, DC, an economic sanctions boutique firm, is an authoritative US economic sanctions practitioner and expert

Besides his law practice which is currently, and for the past 24 years, has been devoted almost exclusively to various matters involving US economic sanctions, he serves as an expert witness/offers testimony in:

– civil enforcement defense cases,
– criminal defense proceedings,
– commercial disputes/trials in various courts, and
– arbitration proceedings/commercial disputes

Mr. Eren is a former senior official of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency that administers and enforces US economic sanctions. Prior to entering private law practice, Mr. Eren served at OFAC for 7 and ½ years. He has invaluable insights and deep and broad knowledge of, and experience with, the relevant laws and regulations governing US sanctions, and their impact on, inter alia, finance and banking, shipping/maritime and international trade and investment activities.

Mr. Eren can be contacted at:

+ 1 202 429 9883
hal.eren@erenlaw.com

Mr. Eren’s bio and information regarding his law firm and practice can be found below and at: www.erenlaw.com

Hal Eren

Founding and Managing Partner

Hal Eren is the founding and managing partner of the Eren Law Firm and leads the Firm’s highly respected corporate and economic sanctions practice. Over the years, he has successfully advised clients on numerous transactions, resolved sanctions disputes, settled sanctions enforcement actions, and secured favorable licenses and interpretations. He brings a unique and extensive wealth of knowledge and experience in sanctions law to each case. With a practical and detail-oriented approach, Mr. Eren provides clients with unparalleled legal guidance.

Mr. Eren possesses unique expertise in corporate matters, economic sanctions, export controls, anti-money laundering laws, business integrity regulations, and related dispute resolution. His seven and a half years with the U.S. Treasury have given him proven expertise in handling U.S. economic sanctions and anti-money laundering laws applicable to U.S. and non-U.S. banks, financial services companies, marine insurers, and shipowners. He also advises clients on compliance, defends them in enforcement actions, and manages dispute resolution.

Mr. Eren represents clients in court and before various entities, including tribunals handling international investor-state disputes such as the World Bank’s ICSID, and other arbitration forums. He regularly engages with the U.S. Treasury, State, Justice, and Commerce departments; U.S. federal banking regulators; the New York State Department of Financial Services; other state banking regulators; and U.S. federal prosecutors. Mr. Eren also serves as an expert witness in court and arbitration proceedings.

From 1992 to 2000, Mr. Eren served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency responsible for administering U.S. economic sanctions. In his last role at OFAC, he was Senior Sanctions Advisor.

Mr. Eren’s portfolio at OFAC was diverse, focusing on issues related to Libya, Yugoslavia, Iran, and Cuba. His cases involved international payments and clearing, complex financial and trade transactions, international loan syndications, and large frozen assets. Notably, he led policy and decisions regarding the apportionment of the London Club Debt of Yugoslavia among its successor states. At OFAC, he contributed to the formulation and drafting of executive orders, regulations, and guidelines, including those imposing sanctions on Yugoslavia and Iran. He also participated in drafting UN resolutions and the initial OFAC regulations governing sanctions against Iran, such as the Iranian Transactions Regulations. At OFAC, Mr. Eren also referred matters for penalties and contributed to reviews of proposed civil penalties for sanctions violations.

Mr. Eren authored legal interpretations on jurisdiction and third-country trade and played a material role in adjudicating exceptions to sanctions prohibitions. He played a key role in drafting memoranda for upper echelon Treasury policymakers and participated in interagency deliberations. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Eren practiced law at Clifford Chance’s Washington, D.C. office, where he advised and represented clients, firm attorneys, and the firm itself on economic sanctions and other U.S. financial and international trade regulatory matters.

Mr. Eren brings more than a decade of business and transactional experience to his legal practice. Many attorneys and law firms without OFAC service experience refer clients to or co-counsel with Mr. Eren for his unique knowledge and skills in economic sanctions matters.

Prior to joining the Treasury in 1992, Mr. Eren served as an executive of a real estate and infrastructure development company, a federal U.S. savings bank, and as an executive of an international merchant bank in Madrid, Spain, where he focused on marketing and financing significant projects in the civilian and military sectors in Europe and the Middle East

Practice Areas
  • Economic / Financial /
  • Trade Sanctions
  • Economic Sanctions:
  • International Shipping and Maritime Insurance
  • Financial / Trade Regulation
  • Finance / Corporate
  • Dispute Resolution / Litigation
  • International Law
Admissions
  • New York
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
Court Admissions
  • State Courts of: New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
  • Federal:
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC)
  • U.S. Court of International Trade
Education
  • American University, J.D.
  • University of Maryland, B.A. – Economics
  • University of Maryland, B.A. – Government & Politics
  • Harvard University, Executive Education
  • Université de Paris-Sorbonne, Non-Degree Study, Certificate
  • The Severn (private) High School
Professional Associations
  • District of Columbia Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Maryland Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Section of International Law and Practice
  • Practice, and a member of economic sanctions task force
Languages
  • English (native)
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Turkish
Career
  • United Nations Headquarters, Intern
  • Banking & Business (private sector), 1982 – 1992
  • U.S. Treasury Department (OFAC), 1992 – 2000
  • Clifford Chance, LLP, 2000 – 2002
  • The Eren Law Firm, since 2002

Contact Mr. Eren

Schedule a Consultation

Economic Sanctions
and Embargoes

Economic sanctions and embargoes are policy tools used by countries or international organizations to influence or compel a change in behavior by a targeted country, group, or individual. They typically involve restrictions on trade, financial transactions, or other economic activities. The primary goals of sanctions can include:

  1. Punishment: Penalizing a country for certain actions or policies, such as human rights violations, aggressive military actions, or breaches of international laws.
  2. Pressure: Forcing a change in behavior or policy through economic hardship or isolation. This could involve targeting key sectors of an economy like oil, banking, or technology.
  3. Deterrence: Discouraging other countries or entities from engaging in similar behavior by showcasing the potential economic consequences.

Support for or Enforcing International Norms: Upholding international laws or agreements by punishing those who violate them

Sanctions can take various forms, including

Trade Restrictions: Bans or limitations on importing or exporting certain goods.
Financial Sanctions: Freezing assets, restricting access to international financial systems, or prohibiting transactions with specific entities.
Travel Bans: Preventing certain individuals from entering or transiting through countries imposing the sanctions.
Embargoes: Comprehensive bans on trade and economic activity with a specific country or territory.

The effectiveness of sanctions can vary. They can sometimes lead to significant changes in behavior or policy, but they can also have unintended consequences, such as worsening the situation for ordinary people rather than the targeted leaders or entities. Additionally, the success of sanctions often depends on the level of international cooperation and the targeted country’s ability to adapt or find alternative economic partners.

U.S. economic sanctions are administered and enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Copyright © H C Eren