Holland & Knight Adds Ex-U.S. Trade Rep Attorney to D.C. Team

International Trade attorney Patrick Childress was featured in a Law360 article about his move to Holland & Knight after serving as assistant general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Mr. Childress spent more than five years with the USTR, where he advised senior members of the Biden and Trump Administrations, led government delegations negotiating with foreign trade partners and worked on trade policies involving digital trade, climate and investment. Notably, he also served as the USTR's lead attorney on policy issues related to the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). He said his experience in government has made him "battle-tested" and ready to tackle rapidly changing issues in the trade space, including new developments involving tariffs and other global geopolitical disruptions. He also talked about his motivation for transitioning out of the public sector, citing the USCMA's first six-year review in 2026 as an issue he looks forward to counseling clients on.

"I think it's a great time to grow a private practice and an opportunity to do a lot of interesting work in this space," he commented. "I don't really know if there's ever been a time that's been as dynamic and fast-changing in the international trade policy space as the last few months, so I'm excited to work on that from this perspective, as opposed to being in government."

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