ROBERT D. VANDER LUGT

Partner

+1.202.869.3867

Bob has more than thirty years of experience in international trade compliance and government contracting matters, divided almost equally between outside law practice with international law firms and in-house positions with a Tier 1 Aerospace and Defense prime contractor in the U.S. His experience includes advising on trade control laws and regulations, building and managing the corporate infrastructure for international trade compliance as well as auditing that compliance infrastructure and investigating and disclosing potential instances of non-compliance. In his national security law practice, Bob leverages experience as a retired naval intelligence officer (with command and combat experience) to assist U.S. and foreign clients with reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as security clearances and compliance with the National Industrial Security Program (NISP), nuclear and naval nuclear technology controls, and the DoD technology release processes. He specializes in international trade and anticorruption controls, government contracts, offsets, and public international law, including the legal and regulatory compliance issues arising from:

Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Defense Acquisition Regulations (DFAR) and other agency procurement regulations
Arms Export Controls ACT (AECA), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
Export Administration Act (EAA) as extended, and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
Exon-Florio CFIUS reviews of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
US customs and import regulations
False Claims Act
Embargos, trade sanctions, and the Treasure Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Regulations
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) and DoD regulations of classified contracts
Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) and Department of Energy, National Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) controls on the export of nuclear technology and materials, as well as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (NNPI) controls.
Public international law issues facing multinational corporations, foreign sovereigns and international organizations
Non-U.S. government trade compliance, anticorruption & procurement regulations, and offset guidelines

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

International Trade Compliance

Advised on export control, import, sanctions, anticorruption laws & regulations; developed compliance plans and licensing strategies
Developed and implemented compliance assessment procedures and performed trade control audits
Drafted, reviewed and interpreted hundreds of licenses, agreements and provisos
Negotiated with BIS, DDTC, DoD, OFAC, the NSA, FBI and various non-US regulators regarding trade control licensing and enforcement matters
Conducted dozens of internal investigations, drafted and defended both directed and voluntary disclosures, and managed responses to both civil and criminal inquires by the USG
Negotiated and managed trade control settlement and consent agreements

Government Contracts

Counselled clients on FAR/DFAR compliance and designed internal controls
Challenged contract award decisions through bid protest procedures, including classified and Special Access Programs (SAP) contracts
Defended a major A&D contractor against Natural Resource Damages (NRD) claims on the basis of its limited duties under the Government-Owned-Contractor-Operated (GOCO) facilities contract
Counselled client regarding SBA size standards and challenges, SBIR and STTR contracting, and small business subcontracting plans.
Assisted R&D contractors with specialized DARPA and IARPA contracting issues
Prepared CFIUS filing for defense contractor acquisitions by, and divestitures to, foreign corporations

National Security

Represented defense contractors in actions relating to facility security clearances (FCL), including mitigation of Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI), operation of Special Security Agreements (SSA) and Proxy Arrangements, structuring of transnational ventures, and other NISPOM compliance issues
Successfully challenged revocation of personnel security clearances (PCL) for defense contractor personnel, appearing before administrative law judges of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals
Represented both foreign acquirors and U.S. companies in notifying transactions to CFIUS
Advised private equity acquirer on managing Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) regulatory requirements for Facility Clearances among investment target companies
Held Top Secret clearance for 28 years, and served as the personnel security officer for U.S. naval units and joint commands. Managed classified material holdings as security officer and unit Commanding Officer.

Public International and Transnational Legal Issues

Advised companies & foreign sovereigns on international law issues ranging from law of the sea and maritime boundary delimitation to treaty interpretation and settlement of investment disputes
Advised President of Afghanistan on National Security authorizing legislation, and border security issues
Advised clients on relevant European Union laws, regulations, and dispute resolution procedures

In house at a major U.S. aerospace and defense contractor

Led the team which provided export and import strategy, licensing risk assessment, and compliance assurance, including:
- Management of more than 500 active export license & agreements
- Creation of integrated enterprise-wide export policies, procedures, and automated solutions
- Training, monitoring and risk assessment & audit
- Investigation of possible instances of non-compliance, and all corrective actions
- Successful resolution of multiple voluntary disclosures
- Negotiation, planning and execution for timely closure of a DDTC export consent agreement
Created an enterprise governance capability for Offset management
Assisted in the creation and implementation of Anticorruption controls
Assisted in the creation and implementation of Technology Release processes

EDUCATION

University of Virginia, J.D., 1991
Oral Roberts University, B.A. History and Government, summa cum laude, 1987
Admitted to practice: Virginia & District of Columbia