(Los Angeles) – Akin announced today that Sarah Gerdes has joined the firm as senior counsel in its international trade practice in Los Angeles, further enhancing Akin’s national security & global investigations capabilities on the West Coast. Sarah joins a growing group of highly skilled international trade and investigations advisors in Los Angeles, including George Pence, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in its Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, and Gregory Dunlap, former Special Agent in Charge in the Office of Export Enforcement at the U.S.