KIAN MESHKAT

Principal 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 requests, self-disclosures, administrative subpoenas, enforcement actions, and list removal petitions (OFAC sanctions list and BIS 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.

Before founding Meshkat Law, Mr. Meshkat was a Senior Associate at one of the preeminent sanctions law firms in Washington, D.C., and later a Managing Consultant in EY’s Global Trade practice, where he served as a subject matter expert on sanctions and export controls to the court-appointed independent monitor in the largest sanctions and export controls monitorship in U.S. history. With over a decade of experience, he founded Meshkat Law as a full-service OFAC sanctions and export controls legal practice—generally monopolized by major law firms—with the 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 sanctions lawyer.

Mr. Meshkat has written extensively on trade-related laws and issues for various blogs and law journals. He has also appeared in various media and news outlets, including CBS News, Wired, Iran International, ACAMS moneylaundering.com, Global Investigations Review (GIR), and The Export Practitioner, providing insight as a trusted source on sanctions and export controls laws relevant to current events. He is also a frequent public speaker and MCLE presenter on such topics.

CREDENTIALS

Admissions

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

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Successfully represented SDN-listed individuals and entities in efforts to secure their removal from the SDN List under a variety of OFAC sanctions programs.
  • Successfully represented companies identified on BIS-administered restricted party lists in securing their removal.
  • Represented a U.S. company in connection with a voluntary self-disclosure involving multiple OFAC sanctions programs that ultimately concluded with a cautionary letter rather than a civil monetary penalty or finding of violation.
  • Represented a U.S. organization in an OFAC investigation of apparent violations of the agency’s counter-terrorism sanctions program, resulting in a no-action letter.
  • Advised a global medical device manufacturer on U.S. sanctions and export control licensing requirements and obtained numerous OFAC specific licenses and BIS licenses for exports of medical devices to comprehensively embargoed countries, including, but not limited to, Iran and Cuba.
  • Advised a sanctioned oil and gas company on the applicability of OFAC’s Russia-related sanctions programs and later assisted in obtaining license authorization related to the maintenance of its operations.
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  • Advised a major European investment management and financial services group on various aspects of OFAC’s Russia-related sanctions programs, including OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule, blocking and reporting obligations, and OFAC licensing.
  • Advised a Russian airline on BIS export controls restrictions imposed on its aircraft, including removal from the agency’s General Prohibition Ten list, licensing, and compliance considerations.
  • Advised a diversified U.S. manufacturing and distribution company in conducting a comprehensive sanctions and export controls risk assessment across its worldwide operations and implementing recommended enhancements to its compliance program, including tailored training for senior management.
  • Advised a large U.S. multinational holding company on the design and implementation of OFAC sanctions compliance policies and procedures relating to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, including practical guidance on controls, training, and escalation.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Learn more about our OFAC Sanctions and Export Controls practices.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • Introduction to U.S. Economic Sanctions, New Jersey State Bar Association, August 13, 2025
  • Lawfare: Fraudulent schemes and the weaponisation of sanctions regimes, London International Disputes Week (LIDW 2025), June 4, 2025
  • Passport to Economic Sanctions: Your U.S. Economic Sanctions Roadmap, American Conference Institute (ACI), March 4, 2025
  • The Sanctions in Disputes Forum, ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes, April 18, 2024
  • Introduction to U.S. Economic Sanctions, New Jersey State Bar Association, March 14, 2024
  • Sovereign & States Disputes Enforcement Summit: Disputes with the Additional Element of Sanctions, ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes, Feb. 6, 2024
  • Webinar: U.S. Economic Sanctions 101, California Lawyers Association, Jan. 11, 2024
  • U.S. Economic Sanctions Targeting Iran, Iranian American Bar Association National Conference, Feb. 25, 2023
  • Sovereign & States Disputes and Enforcement: Sanctions, Sovereigns & State Owned Entities, ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes, Jan. 25, 2023

PUBLICATIONS

  • OFAC Administrative Subpoena: What to Do If You Receive One, The Export Practitioner, May 2026 (Vol. 40, No. 5)   
  • 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

RECENT INSIGHTS

CONTACT US

Contacting Meshkat Law, P.C. by email, telephone, or this contact form will not establish an attorney-client relationship or obligate the firm to act as your attorney. All new clients and matters must first be processed through the firm’s intake process, including a conflicts check, prior to establishing an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until we confirm that there are no conflicts.