DLA Piper announced today that Thomas deButts has joined the Regulatory and Government Affairs and International Trade practices as a partner in the Washington, DC, office.
Previously a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, deButts focuses his practice on international trade controls, including economic sanctions and export controls in the Export Administration Regulations and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. He also advises clients on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Nuclear Regulatory Commission export regulations, US Department of Energy Part 810 export regulations and the regulations of the US Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
“With a background in both the government and private sectors, Tom has deep experience in the areas of international trade controls and export compliance and enforcement,” said Richard Newcomb, chair of DLA Piper’s International Trade practice. “He will be a tremendous asset to our clients seeking strategic counsel on the regulations that govern their exchanges on an international level.”
Earlier in his career, deButts served as an Export Administration Specialist in the US Department of Commerce, where he led a staff of export control specialists that advised companies on the applicability of US export control regulations to international transactions.
“Tom’s arrival enhances our ability to advise clients on the complex regulatory and policy aspects of international trade issues,” said Tom Boyd, co-chair of DLA Piper’s Regulatory and Government Affairs practice. “We are pleased to add a lawyer of his caliber to the Washington, DC, office.”
“Tom is widely recognized in the field of international trade controls and his addition will complement our government affairs capabilities in this area,” said Rusty Conner, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Washington, DC, office. “We welcome him to the firm and look forward to his contributions.”
deButts is a regular speaker on international trade and export enforcement issues before the Practising Law Institute, American Conference Institute and the Export Compliance Training Institute. He is also President of the Friends of the Hollow, Inc., a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of former Chief Justice John Marshall’s boyhood home in Markham, Virginia, as well as a Director and Treasurer of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Washington, DC.
deButts earned a J.D. from George Mason University and a B.A. from Duke University.
