MEET OUR ATTORNEY

Kian Meshkat, Principal Attorney, provides legal representation and counseling on U.S. economic sanctions, export controls, and other related federal law matters.

His clients include financial institutions, multi-national corporations, academic institutions, small and mid-size businesses, as well as private individuals, from all over the world and across industries

Mr. Meshkat regularly advocates on his clients’ behalf before the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and other federal agencies, with licensing and classification requests, self-disclosures, enforcement actions, and list removal petitions (OFAC list removal, Entity List removal, etc.).

He also provides clients with on-going transactional advice, in addition to supporting businesses in their export compliance efforts, including sanctions or export controls specific risk assessments, internal investigations, remedial efforts, design and implementation of tailored compliance programs, and training services. Mr. Meshkat’s extensive experience in navigating the intricacies and nuances of OFAC sanctions programs and export controls, as applicable to numerous industries, enables him to best counsel his clients in avoiding the risks and costs associated with over and under compliance.

Mr. Meshkat was previously employed by one of the preeminent sanctions law firms in Washington D.C., and as a Managing Consultant with a “Big 4” consulting firm where he served as a subject matter expert on sanctions and export controls to the court-appointed independent monitor for the largest monitorship in U.S. history. With over a decade of experience, he decided to open Meshkat Law as a full-service OFAC sanctions and export controls legal practice—generally monopolized by major law firms—with the superior client-centric focus and cost-savings of a boutique firm. His clients appreciate his ability to navigate complex legal issues, with a commercial and pragmatic approach to problem solving. He is a trusted export compliance advisor, and zealous export controls and OFAC lawyer.

Mr. Meshkat has written extensively on trade-related laws and issues for various blogs and law journals. He has also appeared on various media outlets, providing insight as a trusted source on sanctions and export controls laws relevant to current events, and is a frequent public speaker and MCLE presenter on such topics.

Admissions

• State Bar of California
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Education

• University of San Diego School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2012
  University of California San Diego,
• Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, 2009

Memberships

• Appointed Member of the District Export Council of Southern California (DECSC),  by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce
• Advisor to the International Law and Immigration Section of the California Lawyers Association

Publications

• Navigating U.S. Economic Sanctions, California Lawyers Association, Jan. 8, 2024
• U.S. Economic Sanctions Implications for Sovereign Disputes, ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes Magazine, Nov. 13, 2023
• The Burden of Economic Sanctions on Iranian-Americans, Georgetown Journal of International Law, 2013