Desiderio, Frank

Mr. Desiderio is a founding partner of the New York based Customs and Trade law firm of Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP. The firm has offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Hong Kong.

At the outset of his legal career, he served as a trial attorney in the Customs Section of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice where he represented U.S. Customs in proceedings before the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Today his clients include importers, retailers, foreign manufacturers, buying agents, trading companies, trade associations, customs brokers and foreign governments. He and members of his firm act as Customs counsel to many of the largest and most prestigious companies involved in the manufacture and worldwide distribution of luxury goods, apparel, footwear, electronics, food products, pharmaceuticals, etc.

For over 45 years, he has assisted clients in structuring their import transactions in a fashion which minimizes Customs duties, ensures regulatory compliance and eliminates penalty exposure.

He has written and lectured widely on Customs and trade issues, including publications and seminars in the U.S., Europe and Asia and is a frequent panelist on programs conducted by the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (NCBFAA), a guest lecturer on Customs in the Fashion Law Program at the Fordham Law School, a panelist on Customs and International Trade at Saint John’s University School of Law and is a member of the Advisory Board and panelist at  the Georgetown Law Center’s International Trade Update.

For over 35 years, he has been an active member of the Italy America Chamber of Commerce (where he has served as a director, program committee chairman and, since 1992, has served as its Customs and Trade Advisor).

Mr. Desiderio is a Cavaliere dell' Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, Cavaliere Ufficiale and Board Member of the Savoy Orders of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and serves  as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the John Cabot University in Rome.