Neil Helfand is a member of the New York Bar, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade.  Mr. Helfand graduated from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1997.  He received a Juris Doctor from American University’s Washington College of Law in 2002, and received a Masters in International Relations from American University’s School of International Service in 2003. 

Mr. Helfand served as an Attorney Advisor for Customs and Border Protection in the Office of Regulations and Rulings, General Classification Branch, and in the Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation.

Prior to entering the field of Customs law, Mr. Helfand worked in the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, where he specialized in issues of transnational organized crime and terrorism in partnership with various U.S. intelligence agencies. 

Mr. Helfand joined Simon Gluck & Kane LLP in March, 2005, immediately utilizing his Customs experience in classification and litigation matters.  He has extensive experience representing clients in Customs penalty actions and country of origin investigations, as well as experience in the areas of antidumping and trade regulation, advising clients involved in internal assessments; Customs Focused Assessments (FA); and preparing companies for membership in Customs’ Importer Self Assessment (ISA) programs.  In that capacity, he has conducted Customs compliance audits and assessments. 

Mr. Helfand additionally has experience in the area of Art and Cultural Property Law, representing and counseling museums, art dealers, an auction house, and art and antiquities collectors on all aspects of the importation and exportation of antiquities and works of art.  

Mr. Helfand is the firm’s coordinator for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program, and is primarily responsible for the firm’s advisory services.  He has represented clients in Customs related matters involving regulations from other federal agencies, including: the United States Department of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, the U.S. International Trade commission, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  Finally, Mr. Helfand has written articles on the subject of Customs and International Trade Law that have appeared in World Wide Shipping magazine and the U.S. Customs House Guide.