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Robert Clifton Burns

Senior Counsel
Senior Counsel
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VCard
VCard

Areas of Focus

Overview

Robert Clifton Burns is a senior counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. Clif focuses his practice on export controls, economic sanctions, customs, national security, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He represents clients in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States.

His clients are in a broad range of industries including medical devices, military equipment, financial services, travel and hospitality, and agriculture. Clif counsels clients on compliance matters as well as, in handling internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, and criminal defense. In addition, he represents M&A clients in international transactions with national security implications before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Clif’s export control work encompasses a broad range of areas and includes matters involving the Export Administration Regulations administered by the Department of Commerce, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations administered by the State Department, and the country-based economic sanctions program administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department. He also has experience in developing compliance programs for each of these three regulatory schemes, conducting due diligence for compliance with these schemes, and submitting voluntary disclosures of prior unlicensed exports.

Clif was an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center from 2004 until 2016. He was editor-in-chief of the Northwestern University Law Review and a law clerk for the Honorable Robert A. Sprecher with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

He speaks fluent French. 

Career & Education

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    • Northwestern University, B.A., with honors, 1975
    • Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1978
    • Northwestern University, B.A., with honors, 1975
    • Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1978

    • District of Columbia
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • District of Columbia
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    • French
    • French

Robert's Insights

Client Alert | 14 min read | 11.01.24

Protectionist Trade Policies in the New Administration: A Question of Degree

Regardless of what happens in the U.S. elections on November 5, one theme is clear – protectionist policies in international trade are here to stay. To some extent, the key difference between the trade policies of a Harris administration and a second Trump Administration may be one of degree. Vice President Harris is expected to continue the more cautious, incremental approach to trade policy favored by the Biden Administration. A second Trump administration, on the other hand, is expected to pick up where it left off and aggressively use the trade tools at its disposal to try to reset and renegotiate trade relationships with many of the U.S.’s trading partners—particularly those countries with whom the U.S. has a trade deficit....

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Insights

Client Alert | 14 min read | 11.01.24

Protectionist Trade Policies in the New Administration: A Question of Degree

Press Coverage | 08.26.24

China Objects To New Sanctions On Firms Aiding Russia

Press Coverage | 05.10.24

U.S. Moves To Sanction China Military Vendor CETC's Chip Arm

Speaking Engagement | 04.18.24

"Navigating the Complexities of U.S. Economic Sanctions and Export Controls: Compliance and Risk Mitigation for Singapore Companies," Singapore Business Federation, Singapore
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Practices

Robert's Insights

Client Alert | 14 min read | 11.01.24

Protectionist Trade Policies in the New Administration: A Question of Degree

Regardless of what happens in the U.S. elections on November 5, one theme is clear – protectionist policies in international trade are here to stay. To some extent, the key difference between the trade policies of a Harris administration and a second Trump Administration may be one of degree. Vice President Harris is expected to continue the more cautious, incremental approach to trade policy favored by the Biden Administration. A second Trump administration, on the other hand, is expected to pick up where it left off and aggressively use the trade tools at its disposal to try to reset and renegotiate trade relationships with many of the U.S.’s trading partners—particularly those countries with whom the U.S. has a trade deficit....

View All Insights