Photo of Cyril T. Brennan

Cyril (Cy) Brennan focuses his practice on international trade regulation and compliance, with an emphasis on U.S. export controls and economic sanctions. Cy handles matters regarding the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), U.S. sanctions programs administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s anti-boycott regulations. In addition, he represents clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and advises clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the foreign direct investment reporting requirements of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and other trade and investment-related regulations in the context of mergers and acquisitions.

9-1-2016 4-49-57 PMThe U.S. government has announced significant increases to the maximum civil penalties for U.S. export controls and sanctions violations. The increases are required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the FCPIA Act). Details of the penalty increases are described below and available in the Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. …

shutterstock_209828623-778x360Between December 2009 and June 2010, a Chinese national and H-1B visa holder working at Microwave Engineering Corporation, a U.S. company located in Massachusetts, (Microwave) was provided with technical data which otherwise would have required a license from the U.S. State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC).  Specifically, the technical data to which the…

shutterstock_30336412_778x360The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, which prohibits the following employment-related conduct:

(1) Discrimination in hiring, firing or recruiting based on someone’s real or perceived national origin, citizenship or immigration status;

(2) “Document…