Willkie Snags Former White House Export and Sanctions Expert

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has hired former White House national security expert David Mortlock as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.

Mortlock, who departed his position as director for International Economic Affairs at the White House National Security Council in December, will advise Willkie’s clients about sanctions and export controls, the firm announced Monday.

“It’s a very exciting time to work with clients and to keep everyone in compliance,” he said Monday in an interview with Big Law Business.

Mortlock had served at the White House National Security Council since October 2013 where according to the firm, he helped develop sanctions against Russia, advised Obama about changes in sanctions for Burma, Cuba, Iran and Syria, and also Iran. Before that position, Mortlock spent four years at the State Department, where he also concentrated on sanctions, and terrorism finance.

At Willkie, Mortlock said he expects clients to be very interested in recent sanctions changes that have taken place in Burma, Cuba, Iran and Russia.

“Russia is heavily integrated in the global economy and the sanctions in place have affected financial institutions and the oil and gas sectors,” he said.

“The entire sanctions regime for Iran will transform drastically within the next few months,” said Mortlock. “Some restrictions will remain and clients with connections to Iran will want to know about these.”

He added, “Everyone will want to be extremely cautious about secondary and tertiary connections to Iran and whether they are in compliance with the law.”

Mortlock previously spent four years as an associate at O’Melveny & Myers, after clerking for Martha Craig Daughtrey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in 2004 and 2005. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Cornell University.

Willkie has 650 attorneys and is headquartered in New York, with offices in London and elsewhere in Europe.

(UPDATED: This article has been corrected to reflect that Mortlock departed his White House position in December)