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James L. Sawyer is a partner in the Customs and Trade Team in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group. He is an accomplished and experienced customs attorney who represents clients in all areas of U.S. customs and international trade laws and regulations.
His experience representing importers before U.S. Customs and Border Protection includes counseling clients in Focused Assessment (FA) audits and other verification and audit proceedings. He frequently represents clients in customs enforcement matters, including civil penalty actions, investigations and liquidated damages cases, and has substantial experience representing clients in prior disclosures and disclosure verifications. James has worked with numerous Fortune 100 companies coordinating the filing of multibusiness disclosures in order to effectively manage identified compliance risks and mitigate civil penalty exposure.
James also has broad experience assisting companies of all sizes and industries in developing comprehensive import compliance programs, partnering with clients to build the essential bridges of communication across a variety of functional areas to ensure import compliance. He works with clients to automate internal control processes, when appropriate, to enhance their effectiveness.
He advises clients in all areas of import compliance, including issues relating to valuation and methods of appraisement, tariff classification, and country of origin determinations and marking requirements, obtaining beneficial administrative rulings and favorable protest determinations for clients resulting in millions of dollars in duty savings. James has broad experience advising clients on duty preference program qualifications and compliance issues, including requirements under the North American Free Trade Agreement and other bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements, the Generalized System of Preferences, U.S. Goods Returned and other Chapter 98 duty savings programs.
James also counsels clients on the import compliance implications of distribution and supply agreements with foreign vendors, buying agency contracts, and licensing agreements to avoid or identify potential pitfalls associated with the valuation of imported merchandise and possible duty implications. He works in coordination with the firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group to provide assistance with due diligence reviews associated with the acquisition of new business.
In General. He received his J.D. degree, with honors, from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and his bachelor's degree, with departmental honors in East Asian studies, from Union College in Schenectady, New York. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Before becoming a lawyer, James worked and resided in Taipei, Taiwan and lived and studied in the People’s Republic of China and is proficient in Mandarin. He lives in Northbrook, Illinois, with his wife and two sons. | 