Melissa Burgess

Melissa Burgess helps clients engaged in manufacturing and cross-border transactions maintain compliance with U.S. and foreign trade regulations, particularly those related to U.S. national security. Her experience includes advising clients on regulations governing permanent and temporary exports and imports (ITAR, EAR, ATF); sanctions; national security restrictions on entities, equipment, and services; review of foreign investments; and compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

In helping her clients mitigate risk and when conducting cross-border transactions, Melissa applies the experience she gained early in her career, which focused heavily on assisting clients with the production, import, and export of weapons systems, including firearms and ammunition. Her work has involved matters before the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the Department of Justice's FARA Unit, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, among others.

Currently, Melissa works with an ever-expanding range of clients on a variety of projects and enjoys learning their new ideas, operations, and technologies. She is equally adept at assisting non-profits, start-ups, second-generation family businesses, and major corporations, and supports disparate endeavors ranging from exporting props to film productions, to the latest in additive manufacturing.