Education

  • University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, B.S. (1996)
  • University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, J.D. (2001) cum laude

Admissions

  • New York

Frances P. Hadfield

Counsel
fhadfield@crowell.com
+1.212.803.4040

Frances P. Hadfield is a counsel in Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group in the firm's New York office. Her practice focuses on forced labor and withhold release orders (WRO), import regulatory compliance, and customs litigation. She regularly advises corporations on matters involving customs compliance, audits, customs enforcement, as well as import penalties.

Frances represents clients before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as in proceedings at the administrative level. She advises corporations on both substantive federal and state regulatory issues that involve U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife in matters pertaining to product admissibility, audits, classification, import restrictions, investigations, marking, licenses, origin, penalties, and tariff preference programs.

Frances has assisted clients in a broad array of industries (e.g., agricultural, apparel and footwear, automotive, cameras, electronics, equipment and machinery, glassware, household goods, lighting, petroleum, and hand tools), providing creative tariff solutions and duty recovery options that enable clients to obtain significant duty savings. Moreover, in enforcement instances she has worked to mitigate substantially proposed customs penalties.

Frances was also a law clerk to the Honorable Evan J. Wallach at the U.S. Court of International Trade. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, she was an attorney at a boutique customs practice in New York City for over ten years. She is a licensed customs broker and has taught tariff classification and customs valuation.

Representative Experience

  • Led three-day bench trial at U.S. Court of International Trade involving six fact witnesses and two expert witnesses resulting in a duty decrease for cotton shelf brassiere tank tops from 16.5 percent ad valorem to 10.8 percent ad valorem.
  • Successfully litigated shelved furniture classification resulting in a duty decrease from 3.9 percent ad valorem to duty free.
  • Settled $1.5 million defective apparel goods case.
  • Succeeded in having penalty case involving the proper classification of digital still image video cameras dismissed.
  • Settled importer's trademark infringement case regarding handbags at the Southern District of New York.
  • Assists clients with establishing import compliance programs.

Affiliations

Admitted to practice: New York, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, United States Supreme Court

Other Memberships

  • Customs and International Trade Bar Association (CITBA)
    • Chair, CITBA Publications Committee (2008-2012)
    • Co-Chair, CITBA Trial and Appellate Practice Committee (2012-Present)


Insights

Speeches & Presentations


Publications


Client Alerts & Newsletters


Press Coverage


Firm News & Announcements

March 18, 2022 Chambers Ranks Seven Crowell Practice Groups and 13 Lawyers in 2022 Global Guide
May 20, 2021 Chambers USA 2021 Ranks 63 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 30 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
February 23, 2021 Chambers Ranks Three Practice Groups and Ten Lawyers in 2021 Global Guide
April 23, 2020 Chambers USA 2020 Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 21 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
December 6, 2019 Preliminary Injunction Granted Against U.S. Government in Solar Energy Tariff Case
April 29, 2019 Chambers USA 2019 Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 21 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.