John Turlais is a member of Foley & Lardner LLP’s Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations Practice Group. His practice focuses on international trade and customs law, advising clients on tariff classification, duty mitigation strategies, valuation and origin issues, and enforcement matters before U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He regularly assists companies in navigating complex import compliance requirements, preparing and submitting prior disclosures, responding to CBP inquiries and audits, and managing corrective actions related to Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs, country-of-origin marking, classification, and forced-labor issues.

In addition to his customs work, John advises clients on broader international trade compliance, including export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), economic sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and anti-bribery/anti-corruption (ABC) compliance under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

John also has significant experience conducting international compliance risk assessments and designing and improving compliance programs for companies of all sizes – from multinational corporations with established programs to small and mid-sized firms expanding globally. He frequently helps clients develop or enhance their internal controls, due diligence processes, and employee training programs tailored to their specific trade and regulatory risk profiles. John also has extensive experience conducting internal investigations and defending clients facing enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies.

John provides clients with practical, risk-based guidance and designs implementable international trade and ABC compliance solutions suited to clients’ needs and budgets. In recognition of his work developing tools to help mid-sized companies assess corruption risks and respond to issues more efficiently and effectively, John has received the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Legal Innovator award and the Milwaukee BizTimes’ I.Q. (Innovation Quotient) award.

John understands that it is critically important to have a coordinated, multijurisdictional response to multinational enforcement actions. To that end, he helped establish an international defense alliance, the ConciliumTM Global Network, composed of compliance, investigations, and government enforcement defense attorneys located in countries around the world. John also serves as the FCPA advisor to a software firm developing online ABC modules specifically designed for training multinational companies operating in India.

John is a frequent writer and speaker on topics related to the international trade compliance, internal investigations, and cross-border government defense strategies. For a list of his publications, please see the Insights section below.

Before joining Foley, John co-founded ProjectLearn USA, Inc., an educational company that provided information and strategies on developing study practices and test-taking skills. John also played professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets organizations.