Sean Thornton

Sean Thornton is a leading financial services attorney with over two decades of experience handling US economic sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), and other financial-crime regulatory matters. He advises global companies and financial institutions on complex compliance challenges, enforcement risk, and regulatory strategy. Sean’s in-depth technical expertise has helped influence US sanctions policy and continues to inform the practical, forward-looking counsel he provides to clients.

Before joining the firm, Sean served as Managing Director and Head of Legal Financial Security for the Americas at BNP Paribas, where he led legal strategy for the bank’s US sanctions and AML compliance programs, and helped lead global remediation following the largest sanctions enforcement action in US history. Prior to BNP Paribas, he practiced at another major law firm, counseling clients on sanctions, illicit finance, and high-stakes government investigations. Sean also served seven years as Chief Counsel of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Department of the Treasury, where he helped shaped the modern US sanctions framework and advanced key national security priorities.