Chris Parlin is a member of the International Trade Practice. He has 30 years’ experience in the international trade field. Mr. Parlin represents and advises governments, companies and industry associations in trade negotiations, WTO and NAFTA dispute settlement proceedings, international trade policy matters and U.S. trade remedy proceedings. He is one of the world’s foremost authorities in WTO negotiations and dispute resolution. With firm member David Christy, he was the first private counsel to prepare and argue a Member’s case before a WTO panel and Appellate Body.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Parlin served in the U.S. government for 18 years in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and previously in the Departments of Commerce and Treasury. He was a Deputy Assistant USTR for Multilateral Trade Negotiations, where he was a principal advisor to USTR Ambassador Kantor on the Uruguay Round WTO/GATT negotiations and the domestic implementing legislation. Mr. Parlin served as Legal Advisor to USTR’s Mission in Geneva, Switzerland at a critical juncture in the global trading system, from 1987 to 1993, when the Uruguay Round that formed the WTO was being negotiated. He litigated over 60 GATT dispute settlement proceedings in this role and served as the primary U.S. negotiator for the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and as a key U.S. negotiator for the Antidumping Agreement. Subsequently, he was the Deputy Assistant USTR for North American Affairs, where he was responsible for NAFTA and Mexican bilateral issues.
Since 1995, Mr. Parlin has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He teaches courses on WTO issues with the pre-eminent GATT/WTO scholar, Professor John Jackson, and with firm member David Christy. In September 2006, Mr. Parlin was named as a founding faculty member of the Academy of WTO Law and Policy of Georgetown’s Institute for International Economic Law; he has been reappointed for 2007 and 2008. He also is a frequent lecturer and instructor on WTO legal issues.
Mr. Parlin is consistently recognized for his work in the area of International Trade in publications such as Who’s Who Legal, Best of the Best USA, The Guide to the World’s Best International Trade Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Parlin received his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and his J.D., cum laude, from American University’s Washington College of Law. He also attended Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. Mr. Parlin is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar.
Education
American University Washington College of Law, 1975 J.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, 1972 Diploma
Yale University, 1971 B.A.
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