Iris Bennett, former cross-border investigations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act attorney at boutique firm Smith Pachter, has joined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in its Investigations and White Collar Defense Group, the firm announced. Based in Washington D.C., Bennett will tap her experience carrying out internal investigations over potential violations of the FCPA, the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act, the firm said.

Angela Hofmann, former leader of the Eurasia Group's industrial and consumer corporate practice, joined Sandler Travis as vice president of the international trade and supply chain resiliency wing, the firm announced in an email. Hofmann's corporate executive experience also includes working as Walmart's vice president for international corporate affairs.

Akin Gump broadened its international trade practice with the addition of two former U.S. government officials and sanctions and export controls lawyers, the firm announced. Elyse Martin, former official at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and George Pence, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, have joined the firm as senior counsel. While at OFAC, Martin served as the assistant director for Regulatory Affairs for two years and for over a year as chief of sanctions program implementation in the Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation Division, the firm said. As assistant U.S. attorney, Pence worked on investigations and prosecutions pertaining to export crimes, terrorism and other national security matters, it said.

Agustin Orozco, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California for the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, has rejoined Crowell & Moring, the firm announced. Orozco will work as a partner in the Los Angeles office's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement and Government Contracts groups. He will focus on white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations, and advise individuals and companies on matters relating to the "Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), False Claims Act (FCA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and alleged violations of Title 18 of the United States Code," the firm said.

Robert Friedman, former attorney-adviser for the State Department's Office of Legal Adviser, joined Holland & Knight as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office's international trade practice, the firm announced. Friedman will advise businesses, trade associations and other clients on issues pertaining to "economic sanctions, export controls, foreign direct investment, supply chain security, customs laws, data privacy and cybersecurity, market access, anti-corruption and national security regulations," the firm said. Most recently, Friedman was an international trade partner at Harris Wiltshire.

With the exit of Rep. Devin Nunes of California to a new social media company, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee shuffled subcommittee leadership positions. Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska will be the new ranking member for the Trade Subcommittee, Ways and Means ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said.

Timothy Broas, former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, joined Wilson Sonsini in the firm's government investigations practice as senior of counsel, the law firm said. Broas joins from Bryan Cave, where he worked for just over three years on white collar matters including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

Annie Froehlich, former in-house counsel for home appliance manufacturer Carrier, has joined Cooley as special counsel in the Washington, D.C.-based export controls and economic sanctions practice, the law firm said. At Carrier, Froehlich served as director and senior counsel for the company's Sanctions and Export wing, leading the manufacturer's Center of Excellence for Regulatory Compliance. Before Carrier, Froehlich worked at Latham & Watkins on export controls and sanctions matters. Froehlich is also a nonresident senior fellow at D.C. think tank Atlantic Council, most recently focusing on U.S. export control developments relating to China.

Audrey Harris, an anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act attorney, has joined Affiliated Monitors in Denver as managing director of global anti-corruption, compliance, ethics and non-financial risk, Harris announced in a LinkedIn post. Harris left her position as partner and co-chair of Mayer Brown's Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice in Washington, D.C., after working at the firm since 2018.

Jeffrey Tafel, the CEO of the Home Builders Association of Western Michigan, will become president of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones as of Feb. 1, the trade group said on Dec. 28.