International trade lawyer, Andrea Ewart is featured in an article by her Alma mater, University of Miami School of Law. Here is the article in its entirety:
Alumna’s Career in International Trade Law Spans the Globe
Andrea Ewart’s career has taken her from her native Jamaica to Patrice Lumumba People’s Friendship University in Moscow, Russia, for her B.A., to the University of Miami, where she received her M.A. in International Studies and a J.D. at Miami Law.
The 2000 alumna and Harvey Reid scholar now calls Washington, D.C., home, where she founded an international trade practice DevelopTradeLaw, LLC to provide custom-tailored legal and business solutions to companies doing business internationally. An experienced international trade and customs attorney and policy advisor, Ewart has a history of successfully developing and implementing sustainable and dynamic trade programs.
“The scholarship offer was instrumental in selecting Miami Law. And being flown down for interviews during Scholarship Weekend from D.C. at the height of winter was a great reminder of Miami’s beautiful weather,” Ewart says. “What stands out for me is the excellent legal training that I received and the wonderful support and accessibility of the faculty.”
Ewart began her practice with the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP, where she counseled and represented clients on U.S. customs regulations, including preferential tariff programs; U.S. export control laws; U.S. trade sanctions; and other related legislation, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Foreign Agents Registration Act.
“Professor David Abraham got me started on the writing path when he and his secretary held my hand through the process of refining and successfully submitting for journal publication a paper I had written for his class,” Ewart says. “A practicum with Professor Elizabeth Iglesias helped me to see how law could be used as a tool for social change.
In fact, it was the desire to contribute to social change that attracted Ewart to law. As a child in Jamaica, she was encouraged to think about becoming a lawyer, but as all she knew about law was contentious litigation, it did not appeal to her. It was work as project manager of a USAID-funded program that provided follow-on support to professionals from Eurasia (newly independent states of the former USSR) who participated in USAID-funded exchange programs during the 1990s that exposed her to the key role played by lawyers in the transformative processes in these countries.
Operating DevelopTradeLaw, LLC since 2003, Ewart has counseled and represented the interests of businesses, governments, and entrepreneurs on a wide range of issues affecting international trade, including customs law and enforcement, U.S. export control laws, U.S. trade sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She has had success in using preferential trade programs to minimize trade costs, support market expansion, and providing contractual support for international transactions. During her years of consulting experience, she has provided legal advice and support to start-ups and other companies entering international business. Her work with governments has included providing trade capacity building support, with particular areas of expertise in trade facilitation, implementation of trade agreements, support for regional integration, as well as reforming the enabling environment for private business and investment, and to support gender equality and economic opportunity.
At Miami Law, Ewart stood out for her accolades, including the CALI Award for Legal Research & Writing I & II; the Administrative Law Dean’s Awards for Academic Excellence in International Economic Law, Administrative Law; Law & Transition to Capitalism Seminar Editorial Board, International & Comparative Law Review; and the Dade County Bar “Outstanding Law Student Pro Bono” Award. She also served as secretary of the Association of Caribbean Law Students, which she was active in reviving after a dormant period, and was a member of the Black Law Students Association.
Ewart will be returning to Miami Law in the spring as an invited speaker to Professor Kathleen Claussen’s international economics law course and has stayed connected to the law school as a frequent donor, attending alumni events in Washington. She has stayed in contact with Abraham, who “has continued to encourage and champion me whenever he reads my newsletter, encouraging me to share my exploits.” In turn, Ewart mentors and champions other women interested in the practice of international trade law, and is particularly interested in increasing the still limited presence of people of color involved in the practice of international trade law.
Admitted to the Washington D.C., Maryland, and the Florida Bars, and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, Ewart has successfully completed the U.S. customs broker exam. The former President of the Organization of Women in International Trade is a native English speaker and conversant in Russian and French.
“As a 1L I was encouraged by the Career Development Office to apply for the summer program that places students in nonprofit organizations and ended up being selected to work with Steel Hector & Davis LLP. That summer I was introduced to international trade law, the area in which I currently practice,” she says. “Having already received a degree in international studies, I was drawn to international trade law and so was further steered and nurtured at Miami Law.”
The article was written by Catharine Skipp and published October 28, 2020 on the University of Miami School of Law’s website: https://www.law.miami.edu/news/2020/october/alumnas-career-in-international-trade-law-spans-the-globe
I am a seasoned international trade and customs attorney, and policy adviser for various companies and governments with a demonstrated history of successfully developing and implementing sustainable and dynamic trade programs. I am experienced in creating partnerships with various business-support organizations to drive compliance and growth in the international market.
