Patton Boggs, LLP

202.457.6035
jbrand@pattonboggs.com

Practice Areas: International Trade and Transactions Business Mergers and Acquisitions

Education:

• George Washington University, J.D., with honors, 1963
• Ohio State University, M.A., 1959
• University of Michigan, A.B., 1958

Bar Admissions: District of Columbia, Ohio

Experience:

Foreign affairs law, or international law and U.S. law as it applies abroad, has been Joe Brand’s ticket to more than ninety countries. On behalf of such clients as foreign sovereigns, multinational enterprises, international financial institutions, educational institutions, and even nongovernmental organizations, Mr. Brand has done legal work in all corners of the globe. In his domestic practice, he helps his foreign and American clients on their M&A deals, financings, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance matters. Mr. Brand also advocates for clients in the area of international human rights.

Governments, and their official instrumentalities, are among Mr. Brand’s clients, and his service for them can be described in the example of a South American country that, at the request of the World Bank, retained him to negotiate a settlement with creditors who threatened to seize the government’s major asset at the very time the government was seeking to alleviate a budget crisis by privatizing the asset. Drawing on his experience in comparative law, Mr. Brand borrowed a concept from a different legal culture, lobbied its passage by the legislature, defended it when it became the subject of international arbitration, and ultimately used it to force a settlement favorable to the client.

His practice is by no means limited to one part of the world. Other examples of recent international activities include a technology transfer to an Asian country, investments in Russia, restructuring the investment portfolio of a Middle East institution, and the representation of an African-based oil company.

Mr. Brand has served for many years as outside counsel to a U.S.-based multinational with operations in more than 70 countries and has counseled the company’s managers on almost every significant domestic and foreign legal activity involving the company, engagements that run the gamut from market access and direct foreign investment to trade disputes and international litigation. U.S. legal work for his foreign clients includes environmental issues for a Japanese chemical concern, regulatory compliance for an Arab bank, defense procurement for a Brazilian manufacturer, and human rights advice for a European company.

Outside the practice, Mr. Brand maintains an active interest in international legal matters. He taught the core curriculum course in comparative law at George Washington University Law School for more than 10 years and now chairs a nongovernmental organization that litigates in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of torture. His interest in university affairs is seen in his service as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the George Washington University. During his tenure as a trustee, he chaired the fund raising program that brought more than half a billion dollars to the university’s endowment. Mr. Brand also chaired an international health care charity, was a director of Human Rights First, formerly called the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and presently serves as a Governor of the Middle East Institute.

Professional Affiliations:

• Board of Governors, The Middle East Institute
• Board of Trustees, Emeritus, George Washington University
• Chairman of the Board, Center for Justice and Accountability
• American Bar Association (International Section)
• American Society of International Law
• Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs

Awards and Honors:

• The Jacob Burns Award for Extraordinary Service to George Washington University’s National Law Center, 1993
• Exceptional Leadership Award, National Kidney Foundation, Inc., 2001
• Order of the Coif, George Washington University Law School; President, George Washington Chapter, 1970-71
• Law Review, George Washington University Law School
• Best Case Note 31 George Washington Law Review

Representative Matters:

• Negotiating an electricity project in Iraq for Middle East private investors
• Advising a European government on debt restructuring
• Counseling an African government on its relations with the International Monetary Fund
• Assisting a Latin American defense industry company in contractual negotiations with the U.S. government
• Advising a U.S. university on establishing a campus in an Asian country
• Conducting a human rights audit of a multinational’s foreign operations