Samuel Witten Email & Phone Number

Sam Witten is a former senior legal and policy official with the US Department of State who helps private clients and foreign governments address multinational issues. His practice includes policy development, advocacy, litigation, and arbitration.Mr. Witten's practice spans public international law, national security law, corporate social responsibility, compliance issues, and international law enforcement cooperation. His clients have included the Governments of South Africa, Israel, and the Federated States of Micronesia. He advises the International Wood Products Association (IWPA) and IWPA members on Lacey Act, CITES, and economic sanctions issues. He has also represented clients in arbitrations at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and under the North American Free Trade Agreement.Before joining the firm, Mr. Witten served at the US State Department as Deputy Legal Adviser (equivalent to Deputy General Counsel) and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. As Deputy Legal Adviser, the top career legal position at the State Department, he supervised the Department's legal work on East Asian and Pacific matters; economic and business issues; human rights; environmental matters; international law enforcement cooperation; and Latin American matters. As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, he managed the US Government's worldwide refugee relief programs, including heading the State Department's international diplomacy on these issues. Earlier roles in a 22-year career at the State Department included Assistant Legal Adviser for Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Acting Director of the Office of War Crimes Issues, and Legal Counsel to the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. Mr. Witten earlier was a Trial Attorney in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, specializing in transnational antitrust investigations, and was an associate in the corporate and regulatory practices at O'Melveny & Myers.

Listed skills include International Law, Foreign Policy, Public Policy, International Relations, and 14 others.