Follick & Bessich - Attorneys at Law

MICHAEL G. KOHLER, ESQ., is of counsel to this firm. Mr. Kohler is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is admitted to the bar in New York and New Jersey. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, and the District of New Jersey.

Mr. Kohler is a member of the New York State Bar Association, Nassau County Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Mr. Kohler began his legal career researching asylum law issues for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. He was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Public International Law and spent time at the Ministry of Justice in Israel researching and recommending mechanisms of dispute resolution in international law.

Mr. Kohler was hired by the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General Honors Program as a law clerk for the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the U.S. Immigration Court in New York. In this position, Mr. Kohler interpreted new laws and regulations and drafted decisions for numerous types of immigration law applications and petitions.

Mr. Kohler spent 7 years as an Assistant District Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service representing the government in administrative exclusion, deportation and removal proceedings. Mr. Kohler was responsible for all aspects of these hearings from case preparation to trial to appeal and also served as an integral member of the office's motions team.

With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, Mr. Kohler was selected to spearhead the creation of a new legal division within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement focusing almost exclusively on customs and other law enforcement matters. Mr. Kohler quickly became an expert in issues such as customs border search and seizure authority, specifically as it relates to the seizure and forfeiture of currency, monetary instruments, cultural property and intellectual property rights - violative merchandise.

Mr. Kohler advised on customs enforcement investigations relating to the misclassification of goods, undervaluation, transshipment/country of origin disputes, prior disclosure, NAFTA fraud, and more - and the fines, penalties and forfeitures related to such issues. The firm is equipped to assist you and your company if facing such an investigation and to ensure compliance with all laws relating to the import and export of merchandise from the United States.

Mr. Kohler is an accomplished speaker and frequently presented at continuing legal education classes, training conferences, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and lectured on issues relating to the seizure of cultural property and antiquities at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.

Mr. Kohler can be reached at Kohler@ustradelawyers.com

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