Lars-Erik A. Hjelm represents Fortune 500 companies whose imports and exports are regulated by the Department of Homeland Security agencies of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as by other federal agencies. His experience covers the wide range of commercial and enforcement laws and policies that CBP and ICE administer, including:
- Duty preference programs
- Tariff classification
- Valuation
- Customs brokerage
- Intellectual property rights enforcement
- Country of origin marking
- Binding rulings
- Audits
- Antiterrorism and border protection initiatives (e.g., the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism)
- Export controls
- Sanctions
- Disclosures
- Seizures and forfeitures
- Fraud and strategic investigations
- Civil and criminal penalties.
From 1996 to 1999, Lars-Erik was the assistant chief counsel and managing lawyer for the Customs Service in the Mid-Atlantic, where he supervised the regional legal office and was the principal legal advisor to the customs ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and the customs Special-Agent-in-Charge.From 1989 to 1996, he was a lawyer in the Office of the Chief Counsel and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury.
During his tenure, he represented the agency before the Court of International Trade (CIT), federal district courts and a U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement dispute resolution panel. He served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, taught customs law at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and assisted in the drafting of the Customs Modernization Act.
Experience:
- Served in various capacities at the U.S. Customs Service.
- Focuses on customs law and policy.
Representative Work:
- Representing a company before the CIT in a historic case on CBP’s refusal to grant duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences.
- Counseling clients through intensive customs audits.
Affiliations:
- Board of Directors, Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
- Member, Joint Industry Group.
- Member, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc.
- Member, ABA Customs Law Committee.
- Former Assistant Chief Counsel, Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Customs Service.
Education:
- J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1989
- B.A., University of Pennsylvania, with honors, 1985
Bar Admissions:
- District of Columbia
Cost
Rate : $$$
