Robert Novick is the chair of the firm's Regulatory and Government Affairs Department, chair of the International Trade, Investment and Market Access Practice Group and a member of the Public Policy and Strategy Practice Group. He also serves on the firm's Management and Executive Committees. Mr. Novick represents clients doing business globally in international investment, trade policy, negotiation, regulatory, government affairs, legislative and dispute resolution matters.
He joined WilmerHale after serving as Counselor and then General Counsel in the Office of the US Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, from 1997 to 2001. As General Counsel, Mr. Novick was responsible for establishing and implementing the Administration's litigation priorities, strategy and settlement positions in WTO and NAFTA dispute resolution, as well as under bilateral agreements, and had responsibility for the Administration's legal positions with respect to all trade matters.
He also led negotiations on various legal and policy issues. He was a principal negotiator of the US-China WTO market-opening agreement and oversaw US participation in the multilateral negotiations on China's accession to the WTO. He served as USTR's representative to the 19-person Congressionally-established Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce.
Before entering public service, Mr. Novick was a partner in a Washington, DC firm, where his practice concentrated on trade policy and trade litigation matters, including matters related to the various import relief laws, customs and international arbitration.
Practice
Mr. Novick's practice at WilmerHale focuses on assisting companies and associations to develop and implement market access, government relations, legislative and litigation strategies to secure and preserve export, investment or commercial opportunities throughout the world.
Recent issues have focused on negotiations of the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, the relationship between global climate change initiatives and international trade rules and internet censorship.
Recent representations are in the aerospace, agriculture, hi-tech, consumer goods, energy, pharmaceutical and services sectors, including for clients like Amgen, The Boeing Company, Cisco Systems, ExxonMobil, Google, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the Personal Care Products Council and PhRMA. His dispute resolution practice, particularly before the WTO, complements strategies to remove trade and regulatory impediments. Recent dispute resolution matters include representing Boeing in connection with the WTO dispute settlements cases concerning aircraft subsidies and ITI in connection with the EU's failure to abide by its Information Technology Agreement commitments.
Honors and Awards
- Selected by Washingtonian magazine as one of the "Top Lawyers" in Washington DC, 2009
- Listed as a "Leading Lawyer" in the area of Litigation: International trade in the 2009 edition of The Legal 500 United States
- Listed as a leader in the field of international trade law in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 editions of Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers.
- Recognized as a leader in international trade: trade remedies & trade policy in the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.
- Selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of international trade and finance law for 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011
- Recognized as a leader in the Trade practice in the 2007 edition of International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
- Listed in the 2005 edition of International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers
- Listed in the 2004-2005 editions of Who's Who of Trade and Customs Lawyers