Customs Law Experience

I know the ins and outs of the Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures (FP&F) process at ports around the country. At any given point in time I have around 100 matters pending before U.S. Customs & Border Protection. I have developed excellent working relationships with FP&F officers, supervisors, and paralegals at many ports around the country, who respect me and my work and the results I am able to obtain for my clients. In some ports, no law firm has more of a presence in matters being decided by FP&F.

Before founding Great Lakes Customs Law in 2009, I trained as a clerk at the customs law firm of Edmund Maciorowski, P.C., in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan from 2007. Large law firms who need my expertise unsuccessfully try to recruit me approximately every two years. References from past clients are available upon request.

Practice Areas

• Currency seizure defense — petitions, CAFRA claims, and offers in compromise
• Penalty defense and mitigation — 19 USC 1592, liquidated damages, and bond claims
• Prior disclosures for importers who identify compliance errors before CBP acts
• Protests of CBP classification, valuation, and liquidation decisions
• AD/CVD scope rulings and administrative reviews
• Tariff classification, country of origin, and customs valuation
• Binding ruling requests and internal advice requests
• Drawback claims and USMCA drawback
• Export penalty defense — AES and EAR violations
• Litigation at the Court of International Trade and Federal District Court

Results You Can See

My results in penalty cases are tracked and regularly updated here: Penalty and Liquidated Damages Case Outcomes. Results in more than 700 currency seizure cases — where CBP has seized money for failure to report, bulk cash smuggling, or structuring — are here: Currency Seizure Case Outcomes. Binding ruling letters I have obtained for importer clients are published on CBP’s CROSS System.

Less visibly, I have argued before the United States Court of International Trade, negotiated a substantial reduction in a $146,815 penalty for allegedly importing counterfeits in a virtually unprecedented case in the Eastern District of Michigan, and have resolved numerous seizure and forfeiture matters with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the attorneys at CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel — before matters ever went to court.

In addition to formal proceedings, I have advised clients and made many prior disclosures under § 1592 for importers, obtained favorable prospective binding rulings, and provided guidance on tariff classification, country of origin, antidumping and countervailing duties, and valuation issues without the need for formal rulings. In some cases, I have saved companies millions of dollars with a few hours of sound, focused advice.

National Reach

Great Lakes Customs Law has offices in both Detroit and Chicago to serve clients face-to-face. Given the nature of modern practice, I am remotely available everywhere — and the majority of customs matters are handled entirely by phone, email, and document exchange regardless of where the client or port is located.

We have a team of staff that expands with our caseload and the needs of our clients, including relationships with national customs brokerages and freight forwarders when their practical expertise is necessary.

Great Lakes Customs Law represents clients at ports of entry nationwide. See our full list of areas served.

Education

I attended Purdue University and later transferred to Loyola University Chicago, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science magna cum laude and with departmental honors. I am a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society. I attended Ave Maria School of Law, then located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I have lived in Chicago, Rome, Italy (attending the John Felice Rome Center), and Kraków, Poland (Jagiellonian University — International Business & Trade Summer Law Program) as part of my education. I am a recipient of a scholarship from the Kosciuszko Foundation in 2006. I am licensed in Illinois and Michigan.

Awards