Washington, D.C.

The government is the defendant. This is the court.

OFAC suits, agency-delay litigation, and local-counsel work in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — for companies the government has frozen, and for the law firms who need a presence here.

Email the firmWritten intake only — describe the matter and the deadline, and a litigator replies. Or write directly to info@dcfederallitigation.com.
Practice

OFAC license delay lawsuits

When a specific-license application has sat undecided for a year or more, the APA gives a federal court the power to order a decision.

Practice

SDN delisting litigation

Challenging a designation, a delisting denial, or a petition OFAC simply will not answer — on the administrative record, in court.

Practice

Mandamus & unreasonable delay

The delay toolkit against any federal agency: mandamus, APA delay claims, and the record that makes them credible.

Practice

Local counsel in the District

For out-of-district and foreign law firms: we file, appear, and keep your case compliant with this court's rules. You lead.

Practice

Pro hac vice sponsorship

How out-of-town counsel appears in the District's federal court, and what the sponsoring attorney actually does.

Practice

Federal civil litigation

APA suits, record-review cases, FOIA enforcement, and motion practice in the court where the government defends itself.

One court, one kind of case

Nearly everything on this site happens in the same building: the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the federal trial court where the government is always home and venue over federal defendants is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e)(1). The firm's work there runs on two tracks. On the first, we sue the government — the Office of Foreign Assets Control over license applications that have sat undecided, agencies of every kind over delay that has stopped being processing and become refusal, and OFAC again over designations and delisting denials. On the second, we act for other lawyers: local counsel and pro hac vice sponsorship for out-of-district and foreign firms whose cases land in the District.

Who these pages are for

How intake works. Email info@dcfederallitigation.com with what happened, what agency it involves, and any date on a notice. There is no form, no call center, and no obligation — a litigator reads it and replies in writing.

Questions we actually get

Do you only handle OFAC cases?

No. Sanctions litigation is a focus because so few firms do it, but the practice is federal litigation against and involving the government: APA suits, mandamus and delay cases, FOIA enforcement, and service as local counsel for firms litigating here from elsewhere.

Can a company outside the United States hire you directly?

Yes. Much of this docket is foreign companies and individuals — the engagement, payment path, and any sanctions-law constraints on the representation itself are addressed in writing before work begins.

Why is everything in the District of Columbia?

Because federal agencies reside here for venue purposes, so a suit against an agency or its officers is almost always proper in this district — and for OFAC and delay cases it is where the governing case law is densest.