Williams Mullen’s Firearms Industry Group provides innovative legal services to members of the firearms industry. The industry is constantly evolving with new laws, the expansion of e-commerce, the critical need for financing, increasing venture capital investments, and surging potential liability.
Our attorneys have a single focus: providing innovative, practical, business-oriented legal solutions to our clients. With years of experience working with some of the most well-known companies in the industry, Williams Mullen provides the legal knowledge and experience that help companies advance their business growth.
Williams Mullen’s Firearms Industry Group provides innovative legal services to members of the firearms industry. The industry is constantly evolving with new laws, the expansion of e-commerce, the critical need for financing, increasing venture capital investments, and surging potential liability.
Our attorneys have a single focus: providing innovative, practical, business-oriented legal solutions to our clients. With years of experience working with some of the most well-known companies in the industry, Williams Mullen provides the legal knowledge and experience that help companies advance their business growth.
Our team provides comprehensive legal counsel to ensure that our clients are in compliance with all federal and state firearms laws. We collaborate with our clients to assess their current policies and incorporate enhancements that keep our clients ahead of the regulatory curve.
Whether you are a manufacturer needing help with the industry’s complex laws and regulations; a retailer looking to sell guns online; or a company looking to finance firearms transactions, our team can help.
Federal and State Firearms Regulatory Compliance
- ATF Compliance and Enforcement.
- ITAR, Export Control and OFAC Representation.
- Importing of Firearms and Ammunition.
- National Firearms Act.
- Gun Control Act of 1968.
- State and local compliance and enforcement.
Risk Mitigation, Liability Avoidance, and Defense of Claims
- In depth advice regarding newly-created liability under state statutes imposing “reasonable controls” standards on industry members.
- Defense of lawsuit attacking industry members’ alleged negligent marketing practices and issues stemming from intentional misuse of products.
- Advice on avoidance of supply-chain liability, products liability, and related matters.
- Defense of products liability actions.
Financing Issues in the Industry
- Platform development for retail firearms lending and leasing, including offerings of Retail Installment Sales Contracts and consumer leases as alternatives to cash and credit card purchases.
- Banking regulation and relationship advice in light of restrictions on lending to the industry and “reputational risk”.
- Relationship management between firearms industry members and lenders, venture capital firms and other sources of debt and equity financing.
Corporate Law and Business Advice
- Entity formation and corporate governance.
- Equity and debt financings.
- Strategic alliances and joint ventures.
- Mergers and acquisitions.
- Firearms and ammunition excise tax "FAET".
- Income, property, and sales and use tax issues.
Intellectual Property
- Prosecution of patents for new inventions.
- Patent, trademark and copyright protection and disputes.
- Privacy and information security.
E-Commerce and Online Gun Sales
- E-commerce platform and procedure development for purchasing firearms through online portals.
- E-commerce compliance advice on safe terms and conditions of sale.
- Liability analysis for companies of state and local laws and the applicability of specific federal laws that control risk, such as the Protection in Lawful Commerce of Arms Act (PLCAA).
Government Investigations and Subpoena Compliance
- False Claims Act (FCA) litigation defense.
- Internal Investigations.
- Subpoena Compliance and Communication with regulators and law enforcement.
- Federal Acquisition Act and Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act counseling.
Economic Development and Government Relations
- Relocations, expansions and incentives.
- State legislative lobbying.
Employment
- Intersection of employment laws and firearms laws, such as issues regarding responsible persons’ duties.
- Employment agreements and non-compete / restrictive covenant issues.
- Employee benefits.
- Equity and executive compensation.
- Immigration.
Environmental
- Lead contamination and OSHA issues.
- Sustainability.
News
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03.09.2023
FIC 2023 to Help FFLs Mitigate Compliance Risk
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02.16.2023
Firearms Industry Conference 2023 Agenda to Address FFL Operational Concerns
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12.06.2022
Assessing and Mitigating Legal Risk: Emerging Trends and Challenges to the PLCAA
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04.27.2022
ATF Addresses FFL Audience on Expansive Changes in 2021R-05 ‘Frame or Receiver’ Final Ruling
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04.14.2022
ITAR & EAR Export Controls on Firearms - Five Important Points You Need to Know
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04.11.2022
New Frame & Receiver Ruling Announced; ATF to Address Industry at FIC 2022
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04.06.2022
Over 20 ATF Executives & Personnel to Attend Firearms Industry Conference 2022
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03.31.2022
ATF Regulations Reloaded
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03.23.2022
Managing Legal Risks in the Supply Chain: A Note on Terms and Conditions of Sale
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03.17.2022
ATF Regulations Coming: (re)Defining a "Firearm," Stabilizing Braces and Solvent Traps
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03.10.2022
Examining Responsibilities of an FFL Responsible Person at FIC 2022
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03.04.2022
Import/Export Professionals to Navigate Global Firearms Trade & Compliance at FIC 2022
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02.23.2022
Innovators to Showcase Future of FFL Technology at Firearms Industry Conference 2022
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01.26.2022
2022 Firearms Industry Conference Kicks Off Registration
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04.28.2021
A Look Back - State and Local Law Compliance is Essential to E-Commerce Success in Sale of Firearms and Related Accessories
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03.29.2021
Online Gun Sales: Four Aspects of Effective and Compliant E-Commerce Sales Terms
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03.15.2021
Lawsuit “Immunity” for Firearms Industry Members? What the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act Really Says
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02.10.2021
Chuck James Elected to Williams Mullen’s Board of Directors
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07.09.2020
COVID-19 Comeback Plan: Preparing for and Responding to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Audits and Other Government Inquiries
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02.06.2020
ITAR Firearms Amendments - Six Important Points You Need to Know
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10.23.2019
PODCAST: Are You Interested in Investing in a Company With a Federal Firearms License (FFL)?
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02.22.2019
Chuck James Quoted in Richmond Times-Dispatch on Gun Thefts in Richmond
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08.06.2018
Chuck James Quoted in Associated Press Story on 3D-Printed Guns
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06.11.2018
Export Control Amendments Proposed for Commercial Firearms, Ammunition and Related Products
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01.17.2018
2017 Highlights the Importance of State Law Compliance in the Firearms Industry
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09.27.2017
OSHA Adds Arsenic as a Concern for Indoor Shooting Ranges
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09.22.2017
How SilencerCo Strategically Uses Two Federal Laws in Innovative Design of the Maxim 50
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08.23.2017
Camden Webb Talks Operation Choke Point with Fox News
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08.22.2017
Operation Choke Point: Justice Department Announces Program’s End
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08.18.2017
Camden Webb Discusses End of Operation Choke Point with the Washington Examiner
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01.13.2017
ITAR Guide for the Firearms Industry
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08.24.2016
New Guidance on ITAR Registration in the Firearms Industry
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06.20.2016
Senators’ Gun Control Proposals Illustrate Key Tension in Federal Firearms Policy
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05.09.2016
New ATF Ruling Allows Cloud-Based Storage of Acquisition and Disposition Records
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05.03.2016
Sandy Hook Lawsuit Aims to Weaken PLCAA, While Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss
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01.06.2016
Firearms Industry Alert: Obama’s Executive Order Broadens Regulation, Highlights Compliance Challenges
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01.06.2016
Chuck James Quoted Across the Country on President Obama's Gun Control Executive Action
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10.28.2015
Badger Guns Case Highlights Retailers’ Legal Risk and Need for Compliance and Training
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10.06.2015
Operation Choke Point: Lawsuit Against Federal Bank Regulators Survives Motion to Dismiss, Proceeds to Discovery
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09.25.2015
State and Local Law Compliance is Essential to E-Commerce Success in Sale of Firearms and Related Accessories
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08.18.2015
Online Gun Sales: E-Commerce Terms that Work, and Keep the Seller Safe
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08.07.2015
North Carolina Enacts Omnibus Firearms Law, Promotes Uniformity and Standardization of NC’s Gun Laws
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06.04.2015
Williams Mullen Files Brief with NC Supreme Court to Protect Rights of Shooting Range Owners
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04.29.2015
Camden Webb discusses constitutional rights of legal immigrants in NRA News segment
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04.29.2015
Camden Webb mentioned in Washington Post article
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04.24.2015
Camden Webb featured in NRA News radio segment
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04.02.2015
Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: Is it About Guns on the Shelves or Guns in the Streets?
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12.17.2014
The Crimes of Others: Adam Lanza, Sandy Hook, and Protection Against Tort Liability for Selling Firearms
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08.07.2014
Second Amendment Rights “Out the Door” in D.C.
Events
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05.01.2023
Williams Mullen to Co-Host 2023 Firearms Industry Conference
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11.03.2022
Early Registration Now Open for 2023 Firearms Industry Conference
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05.06.2022
Camden Webb and Chuck James Co-Present Webinar on ATF Ruling 2021R-05F
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04.25.2022
2022 Firearms Industry Conference
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06.08.2021
Firearms Industry Compliance Conference - 2021
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11.12.2019
Webinar: Marketing Practices Liability In The Firearms Industry
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05.10.2019
Indoor Shooting Sports Ranges Short Course: OSHA and Hazardous Waste Compliance
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R. Grant Allison
Associate- Phone:919.981.4083
- Email:Email
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Amber R. Duncan
Partner- Phone:919.981.4014
- Email:Email
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Aaron Fadden
Associate- Phone:919-981-4025
- Email:Email
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Charles E. "Chuck" James, Jr.
Partner- Phone:804.420.6529
- Email:Email
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Richard T. "Rick" Matthews
Partner- Phone:919.981.4070
- Email:Email
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Edward S. Schenk III
Partner- Phone:919.981.4303
- Email:Email
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Christopher H. Skinner
Partner- Phone:202.293.8129
- Email:Email
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Aaron G. Spencer
Partner- Phone:919.981.4032
- Email:Email
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John G. Tamasitis
Senior Associate- Phone:803.567.4617
- Email:Email
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Robert Van Arnam
Partner- Phone:919.981.4055
- Email:Email
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Ethan R. Ware
Partner- Phone:803.567.4610
- Email:Email
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Camden R. Webb
Partner- Phone:919.981.4021
- Email:Email