Built for matters where finance and national security converge.
Kevin Hall Law Firm is a Washington, D.C. law firm dedicated to counter-terrorism finance. We advise institutions, organizations and individuals facing criminal allegations, sanctions restrictions, regulatory scrutiny, cross-border investigations and the operational challenge of preventing terrorist abuse of financial or humanitarian systems.
The firm was established in 2002 around a simple operating principle: the senior lawyers who set strategy should remain close to the evidence. Terrorism-financing matters reinforce the value of that model. A legal conclusion may depend on a payment message, an ownership chain, the timing of a designation, a translated conversation, a program-delivery record or what an employee knew at a specific moment. Partners therefore participate directly in scoping, interviews, transaction review, agency engagement and board advice.
Our focus is narrow by design. The practice integrates four disciplines: defense of material-support and terrorism-financing investigations; AML/CFT compliance for regulated and risk-exposed organizations; OFAC sanctions, licensing, designation and delisting; and coordinated response to DOJ, FBI, FinCEN, OFAC, congressional and foreign enforcement. We also address the adjacent issues that can determine an outcome, including correspondent banking, Section 311 special measures, Section 314 information sharing, the Bank Secrecy Act, FARA, trade-based money laundering, hawala, informal value transfer, humanitarian authorizations, mutual legal assistance and extradition.
How we work
We begin by defining the decision that must be made and the evidence required to make it. In an investigation, that may mean stabilizing records and interviews before approaching the government. In a compliance review, it may mean tracing a high-risk payment from data ingestion through alert, investigation and disposition. In a sanctions matter, it may mean identifying the exact ownership interest, program and license condition before discussing whether a transaction can proceed. The team distinguishes confirmed facts, reasonable inferences and unresolved questions so clients are not forced to act on speculation.
Every engagement has a senior lead, a written work plan and a cadence appropriate to the risk. We coordinate with in-house legal and compliance teams, boards, investigators, forensic accountants, data specialists and qualified foreign counsel. Outside specialists are retained only when their contribution is clear, and their work is integrated into the legal strategy. We also plan communications: employees, banks, counterparties, donors, regulators and the public may all require different, accurate messages.
Professional responsibility
National-security work requires restraint. We do not promise results or encourage clients to send privileged, classified or sensitive information through an unsecured website. Prospective clients receive a conflicts review and written engagement terms before an attorney-client relationship begins. Where another jurisdiction’s law is implicated, we coordinate with appropriately admitted counsel.
The firm maintains one office in Washington, D.C. That location supports direct engagement with federal agencies, courts, policymakers and international stakeholders while allowing the team to operate as one integrated practice.
