Robert J. Monjay has joined Akin Gump as senior counsel in its international trade practice in Washington.
Mr. Monjay is a former State Department policy official responsible for the application, amendment and interpretation of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). He held similar responsibilities while previously serving as a policy official in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
Mr. Monjay is well known throughout the defense industry and possesses extensive knowledge of the ITAR and USML (United States Munitions List), as well as the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). In his role at the State Department, he was instrumental in resolving jurisdictional, licensing and policy issues, skills that he brings with him to Akin Gump.
His arrival further strengthens a team that includes partner Kevin Wolf, who previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, and senior counsel Steve Emme, who served for five years as Senior Advisor to Assistant Secretary Wolf. Messrs. Wolf, Emme and Monjay comprised the core group involved in the drafting, negotiation and implementation of significant portions of the ITAR and EAR.
Tom McCarthy, head of Akin Gump’s international trade practice, commented, “We are proud to offer our clients a premier export controls team focused on the nexus of technology and national security, and Robert represents another great addition. I am excited to welcome him to our team.”
Mr. Monjay has spent the past five years in the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Policy Office, first as a Foreign Affairs Officer, then as Acting Co-Division Chief of the Technology and Jurisdictional Analysis Division. Prior to this, he served from 2012 to 2014 as a Regulatory Policy Officer at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.