Allison E. Raley

Allison is a partner in the Corporate & Finance practice, chair of International Compliance & Risk, and a member of the firm’s International practice. A former global general counsel and chief compliance officer for a financial services company, she brings a rare combination of executive judgment, regulatory sophistication, and commercial acuity to complex domestic and international matters.

Allison advises financial institutions, multinational businesses, emerging technology companies, and sovereign entities on high-stakes regulatory, investigative, and strategic risk matters spanning the United States and key global markets. Her practice focuses on financial services regulation, global trade, sanctions, payments, emerging technologies, and enterprise risk, with significant experience across the United States, Europe, South America, and Southern Africa. Clients turn to her for counsel on market entry, licensing, enforcement exposure, operational risk, and the legal and regulatory demands of doing business in complex jurisdictions.

Her work includes advising international sovereign nations and globally active enterprises on regulatory architecture, financial integrity, market access, and jurisdiction-spanning compliance strategy. She has also led and advised on sensitive international investigations and high-consequence internal matters requiring rigorous fact development, discretion, and careful coordination across legal, compliance, audit, cybersecurity, and executive leadership functions.

Allison has a sophisticated command of the regulatory frameworks governing financial flows, product movement, sanctions risk, and enterprise compliance. Her practice encompasses matters involving CBP, OFAC, AML and BSA obligations, anti-corruption controls, sanctions regimes, import and export regulation, and related U.S. and international enforcement authorities. She counsels clients on navigating the movement of funds, goods, services, and technology through complex and highly scrutinized regulatory environments, with particular experience in compliance architecture, investigations, licensing, enforcement defense, and strategic risk mitigation. She is especially valued in matters where trade, payments, sanctions, and financial crime risk converge.

Drawing on both in-house and private practice experience, Allison helps clients build, strengthen, and remediate legal, compliance, risk, audit, cybersecurity, and governance functions in a manner that supports growth while reducing regulatory and enterprise exposure. She also brings substantial experience in commercial disputes and enforcement defense, representing clients ranging from Fortune 5 companies to rapidly scaling and emerging businesses.

Additionally, Allison co-chairs the firm’s Emerging Technologies industry team and Women in Tech Law initiative. She holds multiple industry credentials, including Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Global Sanctions Specialist, Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator, and Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager. A frequent speaker, she presents on financial regulation, sanctions, cybersecurity, digital assets, payments, and international risk.

Outside of her practice, Allison is active in access to justice and equal justice initiatives, supports the work of International Justice Mission in combating global slavery, and serves as an ornithological consultant for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.