Lawrence Ward Bio

Cfius, Ear, Itar, Ofac, Nispom … As An International Business Attorney, Larry Helps Clients Navigate The Complex Alphabet Soup Of U.s. National Security Law And International Trade Compliance. Larry is the Chair of Dorsey’s National Security Law Group and is head of the firm’s Seattle office. Clients ranging from small emerging companies or family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 public corporations and international professional associations trust Larry to advise them on ever-evolving national security law and international trade matters. Larry has worked across countless industry sectors and has developed particular expertise in aerospace and defense, mining, technology (including AI/ML), biotech, financial services, higher education, and manufacturing. He helps clients understand various complicated U.S. regulatory schemes so that they can comply in a cost-effective manner to avoid the reputational damage and the monetary, criminal, and other penalties that can occur when those regulations are violated. As a former appointed member of the U.S. State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG), Larry has built important connections with U.S. Government and industry leaders, which further bolsters his ability to provide practical compliance insight to his clients. Larry helps clients build and refine compliance programs, train employees, classify products for export purposes, apply for export licenses and classification requests from the U.S. Government and structure internal safeguards for dealing with classified federal government information. When something goes wrong, he helps companies internally investigate potential violations of the law and strategize how best to disclose violations to the U.S. Government. Larry also helps clients in building international relationships with various third parties by drafting and negotiating various commercial contracts. Before those relationships are even built, he helps clients craft due diligence programs and assists with vetting of potential foreign partners to ensure that the risks of violations of export control and international business ethics are low. When the business stakes are highest and a client is involved in transactional activity, Larry provides national security and international trade due diligence. He also helps foreign buyers and U.S. targets navigate important regulatory issues associated with foreign investment in the United States when U.S. national security is implicated through the transaction.