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 Lara A. Austrins
Senior Attorney
laustrins@clarkhill.com
312.986.5571
Lara A. Austrins is an associate attorney in our Chicago office. Ms. Austrins
concentrates her practice in Customs and International Trade Law. Ms. Austrins advises clients on regulatory matters, including tariff classification,
valuation, country of origin determinations, marking requirements, and intellectual property protection.
Ms. Austrins assists clients in administrative proceedings, including the following:
- requests for binding rulings;
- protests;
- prior disclosures of violations;
- penalties and liquidated damage s mitigation;
- antidumping and countervailing duty matters;
- free trade agreements;
- duty preference programs;
- export licensing matters.
Admitted to Practice:
Illinois Bar (1999)
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1999)
U.S. Court of International Trade (2000)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2007)
Associations:
American and Chicago Bar Associations
Society of International Affairs
Organization of Women in International Trade
Languages: Latvian (Native Speaker Proficiency)
 Jessica R. Rifkin
Senior Attorney
jrifkin@clarkhill.com
312.985.5564
Jessica R. Rifkin is an associate attorney in our Chicago office. Ms. Rifkin concentrates her practice in Customs and International Trade law. She
received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1983, and her Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1986.
Ms. Rifkin’s practice focuses on all aspects of the import and export process, including the following:
- tariff classification and valuation of imported merchandise;
- country of origin determinations;
- markings;
- import, export, and NAFTA compliance programs;
- seizures and penalties;
- intellectual property protection;
- anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases.
- the U.S. restrictions on trade administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC);
- the U.S. cabotage laws (Jones Act).
Ms. Rifkin has special expertise in the area of Customs litigation. She has argued cases before
both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Prior to joining Rodriguez O’Donnell, Ms. Rifkin was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office
of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP and was Counsel to the Washington, D.C. office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.
Admitted to Practice:
New York Bar (1987);
District of Columbia Bar (1988);
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit;
U.S. Court of International Trade
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Thomas J. O’Donnell
concentrates his practice in Customs and International Trade Law. Mr. O’Donnell received a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from Florida Atlantic University in 1967, a Juris Doctor
degree from Loyola University in 1973, and was admitted in that same year to the Illinois State Bar and the Bar of the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois. In 1974, he was admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of International Trade;
the New York Bar in 1988; the District of Columbia Bar in 1988; and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995. He is also a licensed Customs broker.
R. Kevin Williams
concentrates his practice in Customs and International Trade Law. Mr. Williams received both his Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois in 1976 and 1987, respectively, and
received a Diploma in Advanced Legal Studies from the McGeorge School of Law’s Program in Salzburg, Austria in 1987. He was admitted to the
Illinois Bar in 1987, and to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of International Trade in 1988. In 1989, he was admitted
to the Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.