Howard J. Stanislawski
Attorney
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood

Howard J. Stanislawski is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood. He has worked extensively with both international and domestic clients in counseling and litigation involving aerospace and defense issues, export controls, foreign military sales and many aspects of Government contracting. In his representation of clients, he has worked extensively with agencies of the United States Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Environmental Protection Agency, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation and Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Stanislawski has represented clients in litigation before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, United States Court of Federal Claims, United States District Courts and state courts in a variety of states, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, General Services Board of Contract Appeals, and Government Accountability Office.  He is currently the chair of the American Bar Association's Section of International Law's Aerospace and Defense Industries Committee.

Mr. Stanislawski holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School (1986, Order of the Coif), a Phd. in Politics from Brandeis University (1981), an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies (1975) and an M.A. in Politics (1972), also from Brandeis University, and a B.A., First Class Honors in Economics and Political Science, from McGill University (1970).   He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1986 and the DC Bar in 1987, and is currently a member of the DC Bar. 

Mr. Stanislawski advises clients on a wide array of statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to the aerospace and defense industries, such as protectionist provisions like the Buy American Act, the export control regimes of the Departments of State and Commerce, and the requirements of the Missile Control Technology Regime. He has particular expertise in the area of American anti-boycott provisions and their enforcement by the Department of Commerce, and, since the mid-1970s, he has followed closely the development and implementation of anti-boycott provisions in American law.  Mr. Stanislawski's doctoral dissertation focused on anti-boycott statutes, regulations and policies implemented in the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Canada.  Mr. Stanislawski also advises clients on the legal regimes applicable to foreign ownership, control and influence over American companies performing classified work for the Departments of Energy and Defense.   He works closely with clients in all areas of due diligence involving Government contracts and advises clients on acquisitions and divestitures of Government contracting businesses.

Mr. Stanislawski has been at the forefront of Sidley's focus on Government contract cost accounting issues, including matters involving interpretation and implementation of the Federal Acquisition Regulation's cost principles and the Cost Accounting Standards. He has expertise in the highly complex area of accounting for pension costs in Government contracts, and has been involved in counseling clients and litigating disputes involving interpretations of the cost principles, including those relating to depreciation and asset step-up resulting from business combinations. He has worked closely with clients in the development of complex claims relating to federal Government contracts and in their development and implementation of cost accounting systems and negotiation of contracts with the federal government. He has also conducted internal investigations at the request of clients and has represented clients in their responses to investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, Inspectors General of various agencies, and investigatory bodies of the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. He regularly advises clients on multiple aspects of U.S. Government contracts that are performed abroad, and advises foreign clients on many aspects of their performance of contracts for the U.S. Government, both abroad and in the United States.

Prior to his work as an attorney, Mr. Stanislawski taught Political Science at Wellesley College, Brandeis University and Boston College.