W. George Grandison is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the International Department. For more than 30 years he has practiced in the areas of international trade, export controls and customs. Since 2007, he has also worked on coordinating the firm's signature pro bono project to assist immigrant children and young adults who are victims of human trafficking, violent crime, abuse or neglect or who are threatened with persecution in their home country. He served as Vice Chairman of the firm from 1996 through the spring of 1998. Prior to joining Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Mr. Grandison served with the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Department of the Army and was a member of the US Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflict.
International Trade Litigation
Mr. Grandison's practice in international trade litigation has encompassed a wide variety of major cases under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws, Section 301, and other statutes that address import relief. These cases have involved litigation before the Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission, the US Trade Representative, the Court of International Trade and binational panels established under the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mr. Grandison's cases have involved agricultural and forestry products including sugar, wheat and lumber, and manufactured products including steel, oil platforms, heavy electrical equipment, chemicals, and optical fiber, and high technology products and materials. In antidumping litigation, he has represented clients involved in the sale of complex, high technology equipment as well as clients with large volume sales of sophisticated commercial products. Under the countervailing duty law, Mr. Grandison has extensive experience in cases involving the pricing of natural resources, subsidy aspects of export restrictions, and capital subsidies for major product lines.
Customs Advice and Export Controls
Mr. Grandison has advised a wide range of domestic and foreign clients regarding compliance with Customs and related import and export regulatory requirements. He has represented clients in civil investigations under Section 1592 and has advised on related issues including prior disclosure, Customs seizures and Customs criminal investigations. He has also advised clients regarding responses to Customs inquiries and represents clients in Customs compliance audits.
Mr. Grandison has provided advice concerning compliance with export control regulations including regulations maintained by the Department of Commerce and by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at the Department of State. He has represented clients in international civil and criminal fraud investigations and has advised on internal investigations to address potential violations of US trade, tax, customs and procurement law.
Pro Bono Immigrant Children's Project
As a part of Steptoe's broader pro bono program, Mr. Grandison works with Steptoe's pro bono team to coordinate the firm's award winning project for providing advice and representation for immigrant children and young adults who are victims of human trafficking, violent crime or abuse and neglect or who are threatened with persecution. In this program, Steptoe on average has fifty to sixty active representations of immigrant children and young adults being handled on a pro bono basis by attorneys across the firm's six US offices. As part of this project, Mr. Grandison and other Steptoe attorneys also provide pro bono legal advice and assistance to the Women's Refugee Commission in its work in advocating for changes in the law and in administrative and enforcement procedures to protect the interests of immigrant children and families.
