Squire Patton Boggs has hired an experienced customs and international trade law specialist in its Los Angeles office for its International Trade & Foreign Investment practice group with the addition of Chris Duncan. Chris joins as Tariff and Customs Of Counsel from Stein Shostak Shostak Pollack & O’Hara, LLP where he was a Partner.
Chris represents importers and exporters in the full range of administrative, regulatory and enforcement matters before the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Chris got his start at CBP, where he spent 16 years as a supervisory and senior attorney, most recently serving as the Assistant Chief Counsel in San Francisco as the CBP’s top attorney in the Northern California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands Regions. His other assignments included senior CBP legal positions in San Diego, Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas, and a detail to the U.S. Department of Justice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.
His practice involves wide ranging issues including tariff classification, 301 tariffs, valuation, country of origin and marking rules, intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, trade compliance, and import requirements administered by CBP and other federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He routinely files petitions, protests, and offers in compromise seeking administrative relief, and litigates in federal court, including in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
“Chris’ deep technical expertise as a former CBP lawyer and years of private practice will be a tremendous benefit to our clients in our burgeoning tariff and customs practice. We are excited and proud to have him represent Squire Patton Boggs at WESCCON 2025 in October,” said George Grammas, co-chair of Squire Patton Boggs’ global International Trade & Foreign Investment practice.
Shannon Reaves, the other co-chair of the practice group stressed that “Chris adds to our ability to service our international clients involved in cross-border investment, international commercial disputes and global trade and transport of goods around the country and overseas.”
James Hsu, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office, added, “Our Los Angeles office has a diverse mix of Asian and Pacific Basin clients and major industrial clients in sectors like the auto industry. The office remains in growth mode and bolstering our international trade capability on the West Coast is an important step for our California-based national and international clients.”
Commenting on his joining the firm, Mr. Duncan stated, “I am truly excited to join Squire Patton Boggs. The firm’s clients, its broad network of international offices, its strong presence in California, and its renowned international trade and public policy practices, make it an ideal platform for a customs lawyer. The firm’s global capabilities in government investigations and white collar, international dispute resolution, litigation and public policy practices will allow me to more effectively serve and grow my clients.”