Former Deputy Chief Counsel for Foreign Assets Control at US Treasury Department Joins Arent Fox

Mr. Tuchband joins the firm’s Washington, DC office after spending more than 20 years at the US Department of Treasury’s Office of the Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control) in the Office of the General Counsel. As Counsel, he will advise clients on all aspects of international trade, with a focus on sanctions.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Matthew to Arent Fox,” said International Trade Practice Leader Kay C. Georgi. “As the longest-serving sanctions legal expert at Treasury, Matthew was involved in almost every significant sanction development over the past two decades, including major shifts in sanctions policy on Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, among other countries. Matthew will significantly bolster our deep bench of international trade attorneys and will be a tremendous asset to our clients as they navigate fast-changing US and global economic sanctions.”

In his most recent role as Deputy Chief Counsel for Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department — which he held from 2005 to 2019 (including over one year as Acting Chief Counsel from April 2012 to August 2013) — Mr. Tuchband was responsible for overseeing a team of attorneys that provided legal counsel and review of all economic sanctions actions of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Throughout his tenure at Treasury, Mr. Tuchband was deeply involved in many important sanctions developments, including the formation and evolution of the “50 percent” rule and the increasing use of “secondary sanctions.”

Mr. Tuchband is also considered one of the federal government’s primary experts on the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), having been involved in the drafting of more than 65 executive orders, including recent executive orders involving Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea.

During his time at Treasury, Mr. Tuchband conducted detailed reviews of all OFAC-issued regulations, including every regulation published from 2005 to the present. He provided review and final legal sign-off on OFAC compliance, enforcement, licensing, designation, and delisting actions and worked closely with the Department of Justice on various cases brought against OFAC. Mr. Tuchband received the Secretary’s Honor Award, the Legal Division’s Excellence in Management Award, and several Meritorious Service Awards.

Before joining federal government, Mr. Tuchband was an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP where he focused on export and transaction controls, customs, anti-dumping, and general litigation, including litigation strategy, pleadings, and depositions. He earned his JD, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center and his BA, cum laude, from Brandeis University.