McGinnis Lochridge announced today that Justin M. Cawley has joined the firm as Senior Counsel in the International Trade and Transactions Practice Group.
Cawley represents and counsels clients on a range of international issues, including treaty interpretation, trade regulation, human rights law, EU law, and comparative law. He has also represented clients advocating legal and policy positions before government agencies, legislatures, and international organizations.
Cawley has built an impressive career representing foreign governments as well as private and state-owned companies on a wide variety of international law issues, from trade regulation to cross-border disputes. Cawley helped represent the government of Ethiopia in arbitrations before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission and Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, the latter of which held Eritrea liable for violating international law in starting the two countries’ war. Prior to joining McGinnis Lochridge, Cawley practiced at the Washington, DC, international law boutique Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP.
Cawley joins McGinnis Lochridge on the heels of two other international trade attorneys, Jamie Joiner and Lindsey Roskopf, who joined the firm in February, expanding an already strong international practice. The group’s attorneys represent U.S. and foreign clients on cross-border commercial matters and disputes, from import/export compliance counseling, anti-corruption, and supply chain integrity, to cross-border investments and investment disputes, and sales, distribution, joint venture, and licensing transactions around the world. The firm’s attorneys have handled international transactions or disputes in more than 75 countries, and are aided by the firm’s network of affiliated offices of SCG Legal, with nearly 12,000 attorneys in offices around the globe.
“Justin’s depth of experience advising clients on both public and private international law makes him an invaluable resource for our firm and for our clients,” said Martin Lutz, who chairs the firm’s International Trade and Transactions Practice Group. “He understands international law as it applies to sovereign states, and as it is applied by those sovereign states to private actors. That ability to understand both dimensions of international practice is essential in advising clients on complex cross-border legal matters.”
“I have great respect for my partners at McGinnis Lochridge and the highly experienced international practice group that Martin has grown at the firm,” said Cawley. “I’m excited to put my experience into practice for the firm’s clients, and I look forward to helping grow our practice to meet the needs of our clients with counsel on international matters.”
In addition to his career practicing international law, Cawley has also held positions as a member of congressional staff and as a member of the daily briefing team for the White House and the Administration.
Cawley earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of Richmond.