Overview
NELSON DONG IS AN OF COUNSEL IN DORSEY & WHITNEY’S SEATTLE OFFICE AND SERVES AS CO-HEAD OF ITS NATIONAL SECURITY LAW PRACTICE WITHIN THE FIRM’S GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS GROUP. HE ADVISES COMPANIES, PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES, UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS ON EXPORT CONTROLS, ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT MATTERS. HE IS ALSO AN AUTHOR AND TEACHER ON INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LAW ISSUES.
Nelson was a White House Fellow and senior U.S. Justice Department official in the Carter Administration responsible for international and national security matters and was a federal prosecutor in Boston. He has twice been an export control policy advisor to the U.S. Commerce Department and has served for over a decade as a director of the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York City. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, a director of the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle, a member of the Advisory Board for the Asia Society of Northern California Seattle Center and an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee of 100. Nelson has also been an adjunct professor of international law at Seattle University Law School.
Prior Experience
Nelson was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston (1980-82); Deputy Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice (1979-80); and White House Fellow and Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General Griffin B. Bell, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (1978-79).
News & Resources
Articles
News & Press Mentions
Events & Speaking Engagements
Select Presentations
- Panelist, “Export Control Reform and Industry,” ICE Seattle Export Control Seminar, October 2013
- Presenter, “Cyber Security and International Travel,” ICE Seattle Export Control Seminar, October 2013
- Presenter, “Recent Developments with CFIUS,” Dorsey U CLE Program, July 17, 2013
- Panelist, “Chinese Companies’ Outbound Investment in the United States,” Fourth Fudan EMBA New York Forum, Bank of America Tower, May 6, 2013
- "Going Global: Ensuring Compliance with U.S. Law," Dorsey Symposium for Corporate Leaders, February 2009
Industries & Practices
Banking & Financial Institutions
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceCanada Cross-Border Transactions
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceEducational Publishing, Technology & Services
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceEnergy & Natural Resources
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceFood, Beverage & Agribusiness
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceGovernment Solutions & Investigations
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceHealthcare & Life Sciences
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceHigher Education & Academic Research Institutions
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practice- Anti-Corruption Group
- Asia-Pacific
- Aviation
- Banking & Financial Institutions
- Canada Cross-Border Transactions
- China
- Educational Publishing, Technology & Services
- Emerging Companies
- Energy & Natural Resources
- FinTech
- Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
- Government Solutions & Investigations
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Higher Education & Academic Research Institutions
- Intellectual Property
- National Security Law
- Technology Commerce
Professional & Civic
Professional Achievements
- Director, National Committee on U.S. – China Relations
- Member, KUOW Board of Directors
- Director, Washington State China Relations Council
- Member, President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration, 1999-2001 and 2010-present
- Associate Member, National Association of College and University Attorneys
- Member of the Committee of 100 (a national non-profit organization working for better U.S.-China relations and the civil rights of Chinese Americans)
- President, TechLaw Group (an international consortium of leading law firms that serve high technology clients), 1996-99
- Member, American Bar Association, Sections on Business Law and International Law and Practice and Asian Bar Association of Washington
- Member, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Accolades
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- Recognized in Best Lawyers in America©, International Trade and Finance Law, Technology Law, 2024-2025
- Contributed more than 100 Challenge pro bono hours, 2020-2022
- Dorsey & Whitney – Scales of Justice Team Award (The World Ventilator Foundation), 2021
- Named one of Puget Sound Business Journal's (PSBJ) Directors of the Year, 2021
- Named one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA (International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions), 2018
- Recognized in IAM Patent 1000 - World's Leading Patent Practitioners, 2013
- Named a “Top Rated Lawyer” in Technology Law by American Lawyer Media, 2013
- Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Listed as a Washington Super Lawyer, 2011
