Daniel Fisher-Owens

Practice Areas

Dan Fisher-Owens is a Partner based in San Francisco, California, focusing on U.S. export controls and economic sanctions. His practice covers transactional counseling, classification/commodity jurisdiction, licensing, designing and auditing compliance systems, as well as voluntary disclosures, investigations and enforcement matters.

While not an engineer, Dan enjoys digging into not just the legal complexities of export controls, but also the technical complexities of the products involved. Dan applies his experience as a translator (in his life before lawyering) to export controls, bridging communication gaps between those who “speak geek” and those who speak “Washingtonese.”

His in-depth understanding of U.S. economic sanctions, including the complex sanctions against Iran and Russia/Ukraine, is enhanced by his background in Middle Eastern history and culture. He has supported corporate clients on numerous complex sanctions matters, including the withdrawal of multinationals from sanctioned countries, as well as the entry of companies to embargoed countries after easing of U.S. sanctions. Dan has significant experience with licensing of agricultural and medical exports to embargoed countries, and assists foundations and NGOs with navigating educational and humanitarian exemptions to U.S. sanctions.

He has published on the release of export-controlled technology to foreign nationals - known as “deemed exports”- and spoken before trade associations and industry groups on a broad range of export controls and sanctions topics, such as encryption, compliance program design, licensing best practices, and commodity jurisdiction and classification.

Dan’s expertise covers the State Department International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Commerce Department Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, as well as Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission nuclear export controls. He has a nuanced understanding of the Byzantine U.S. antiboycott laws, and assists clients with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. anti-money laundering issues, particularly where they overlap with U.S. economic sanctions.

He has developed a deep knowledge of the export control issues affecting computers, software, encryption, networking and telecommunications equipment, infrared detectors, test and measurement equipment, chemical and biological agents and processing equipment, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, geophysical instruments, oilfield tools, and aerospace items.

Dan is fluent in Arabic, having lived and worked in the Middle East. He is also fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Persian and French.

Dan is on the Board of Directors of the Professional Association of Exporters and Importers (“PAEI”), a Bay Area non-profit provider of educational programs relating to import and export controls. He is also active on the CompTIA Export Controls Committee.

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Cloud Computing and Data Security Panel, Society for International Affairs, Spring Conference, 2019

• Cloud Computing and Encryption Topics, American Conference Institute (ACI) Global Encryption, Cloud and Cyber Controls Conference, 2013-2019

• Nonproliferation Export Controls: An Industry Practitioner’s View, Guest Lectures, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, 2010-2019

• Cloud Computing and Data Management Panel, Practicing Law Institute, Coping with U.S. Export Controls, 2014-2018

• US Export Controls Topics, CompTIA/SEMI/USITO Annual China International Trade Seminars, Beijing and Shanghai, 2012-2018

• Complying with US Reexport Controls & Sanctions, IFS e.v. Seminars, Germany 2011, 2013, 2018

• Classifying Encryption Software, Technology and Software Classification, and the Specially Designed Rule, Professional Association of Exported and Importers (PAEI), 2018

• The Latest Developments in Encryption, Intrusion Software and Surveillance Technology Controls, C5 US Trade Controls Compliance in Europe – ITAR and EAR, 2018

Publications

• Daniel M. Fisher-Owens & Benjamin H. Flowe, Jr., U.S. Export Controls Relating to Commercial Encryption Items, E-Commerce, and Cloud Computing, PLI Current, Vol. 3, No. 1, Winter 2019.

• Benjamin H. Flowe, Jr. & Daniel M. Fisher-Owens, Exporting Technology and Software, Particularly Encryption, Practising Law International Course Book, Coping with US Export Controls, 2008-2018

• Lucinda A. Low, Karl Abendschein, & Daniel Fisher-Owens, Overview of the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering System, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham, UK (Aug. 2004) (book section)

• Daniel M. Fisher-Owens, BIS Puts Focus on Deemed Exports as Technology Sharing Expands, The Export Practitioner, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Apr. 2004)

• Amanda DeBusk & Daniel M. Fisher-Owens, Safeguarding America’s Nonmilitary Technology, Immigration Law Today, Vol 22, No.5 (Sep.-Oct. 2003)

• William M. McGlone & Daniel M. Fisher-Owens, United States Control of Domestic Technology Transfers - The “Deemed Export” Rule, California International Practitioner, Vol. 12, No. 1 (2002-2003)