Pathways: Careers in International Trade Law
Join the WITA Academy for our Trade & Law Series career sessions focused on trade law, led by professionals from the Washington D.C. trade policy community. The curriculum showcases the wide range of roles and career paths available for international trade and law in Washington D.C. and around the globe.
Students will gain insights from trade law experts, engage with policymakers and legal practitioners, and explore career opportunities in international trade law from government, companies, industry associations, law firms, and consulting. This program offered participants a unique perspective on the wide-ranging career paths available in the trade law and policy community, creating connections with key players across both the public and private sectors.
This online event is free and open to ALL students. Hosted in partnership with the University of Georgia School of Law.
Registration is free for students and faculty from all universities and colleges – must use university email to register.
Program Agenda
All times US/Eastern
12:00 – 12:05 PM ET – Welcome & Introduction
- Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy; Managing Director, WITA – The International Trade Membership Association (B.A. The University of Georgia)
12:05 – 12:50 PM ET – Panel: Trade & Law Careers in the Public Sector and Private Sector
- Bethany Davison, Associate, Mowry & Grimson (B.S. Georgia State University; J.D. Georgia State University College of Law)
- Samuel Negatu, Director, Government Affairs, Consumer Technology Association; former Senior Advisor, U.S. House of Representatives; former Assistant General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (B.A. University of California, Santa Barbara; J.D. Washington University in Saint Louis)
- Brian Soiset, Attorney, U.S. International Trade Commission; former International Attorney, U.S. Department of Commerce (B.A. University of Georgia; J.D. William & Mary University; LL.M. Queen Mary University of London)
- Paul Thornton, Attorney, Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce (B.A. Hampden-Sydney College; J.D. American University Washington College of Law)
- Moderator: Desirée LeClercq, Assistant Professor of Law & Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, University of Georgia School of Law
12:50 PM ET – Conclusion
- Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy
Speaker Biographies
Bethany Davison is a graduate of Georgia State University College of Law and currently works as an associate in international trade remedies matters.
During law school, Bethany was a semi-finalist at the Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition and subsequently served as the Vice President of Appellate Advocacy for the Georgia State University Moot Court. Prior to joining Mowry & Grimson, Bethany was a summer associate at an Am Law 200 firm and interned at a Fortune 500 company in Atlanta.
Samuel Negatu is the Director of Government Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), representing the $351 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. He leads CTA’s advocacy on issues including autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, privacy, and digital trade. Prior to joining CTA, He served in senior roles at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and on Capitol Hill.
Brian Soiset is an attorney at the U.S. International Trade Commission. USITC is an independent and non-partisan federal agency focused on international trade matters. Brian’s roles at the USITC have included working as a staff attorney working on AD/CVD investigations in the Office of General Counsel, working as a staff attorney on fact-finding reports in the Office of Operations, and working as counsel to Commissioner Jason E. Kearns. Brian has represented the USITC in litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and WTO dispute panels. He has contributed legal analysis to fact-finding reports on subjects such as trade with Pacific Island economies, USMCA rules of origin, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Brian is currently serving as Acting Assistant General Counsel for Title VII investigations.
Previously, Brian was an associate at Dentons LLP offices in Shanghai China, where he worked on U.S. compliance issues, mergers and acquisitions, anti-corruption investigations, and Chinese regulatory matters. He also worked in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was a staff attorney for AD/CVD investigations.
Brian received a Master of Law from the University of London, a JD from William and Mary School of Law, and a BA in history from the University of Georgia. Brian also studied Chinese language for a year at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
Paul Thornton is an international trade attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade enforcement and Compliance (CCTEC) at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He advises the Office of Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) on U.S. trade remedy laws and defends E&C’s determinations in litigation before NAFTA and USMCA binational panels, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also collaborates with interagency partners on trade-related matters and the development of U.S. trade policy and manages the hiring, training, and supervision of CCTEC’s student law clerks. Prior to joining CCTEC, Paul served as a Law Clerk to Associate Judge Alfred S. Irving, Jr. of the D.C. Superior Court and Commissioner Amy A. Karpel of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Paul graduated from Hamden-Sydney College with Honors in Economics and from American University Washington College of Law, where he was member of the Administrative Law Review and currently serves as a Moot Court Competition Coach. Between college and law school, he gained experience at the U.S. Agency for International Development, on the Hill, and at the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Desirée LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law and U.S. Labor Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law.
LeClercq comes to UGA from Cornell University, where she was an assistant professor in the School of Industrial Labor Relations and an associate faculty member in the Law School for four years. She won the 2020 MacIntyre Award for Exemplary Teaching & Advising and the 2022 Women’s Leadership Initiative Leading Ladies Award.
Specializing in international and labor law, LeClercq has recently published extensively in flagship and specialty law reviews, including the Fordham Law Review, the Virginia Journal of International Law, the Journal of International Economic Law, the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, the Administrative Law Review, the American University Law Review and the Berkeley Journal of International Law. Notably, her Columbia Journal of Transnational Law article titled “A Worker-Centered Trade Policy” won the ComplianceNet Outstanding Junior Publication Award. LeClercq has also contributed several book chapters on international trade and labor, and she is a frequent contributor to Fortune.
Previously she served as a director of labor affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2016 to 2020, during which time she was an adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law. Additionally, LeClercq worked for nearly a decade as a legal officer at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and served as staff counsel for the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.
LeClercq is active in the American Society of International Law and serves on the Executive Committee of the AALS Human Rights and Labor Relations and Employment Law sections. Also, since 2022, she has served as a designated candidate to chair European Union Trade and Sustainable Expert Panel Proceedings.
She earned her B. A. with high honors from Indiana University and her J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas, where she was the articles and notes editor for the Texas International Law Journal.
Spring Semester Host:
For questions about the event, please contact the WITA Staff events@wita.org.
To become a Law Partner sponsor or to learn more about other sponsorship opportunities, please click here or email Diego Añez danez@wita.org.
About The International Trade & Law Series
The WITA Academy has launched a new Pathways to Opportunity Program on Careers in International Trade & Law. Law students and undergraduates will hear from law firms and trade professionals about career opportunities in international trade and law.
WITA Academy Pathways programs seek to bring the best and brightest, next generation workforce into the trade policy community – diversifying its network of professionals with new talent that may not have previously sought careers in international trade.
This new initiative features both virtual and in-person events in Washington, DC, with sessions on public and private sector career pathways. The series is geared towards pre-law and law students. Virtual events will be announced in the weeks to come.
All programs are free to attend for interested students.
Bringing Trade Education and Career Development Opportunities to Communities Across the United States and Around the World
The mission of the WITA Academy™ is to provide trade education and career development opportunities in international trade to individuals across the United States and around the world. By expanding the network, the WITA Academy™ builds a stronger and more dynamic trade community.
The WITA Academy™ is a program of the Washington International Trade Foundation. Through its programs, the WITA Academy is committed to strengthening the trade community by bringing together a broad range of perspectives and creating opportunities for engagement amongst the trade community. These educational and professional development programs ensure the continued growth and success of the trade community, shaping the future of trade policy.
Thank you to our WITA Academy Sponsors
