Elton Smole

Analyst

Washington, DC

+1 202 261 0556

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Areas of Work

National Security & Cross-Border Transactions, Crisis Management, Economic Sanctions, Trade Policy & Negotiations

Languages

Spanish

Portuguese

Overview

Elton Smole is an Intelligence Analyst in Steptoe's International Trade and Regulatory Compliance Group. As a member of the Global Risk Team, he provides market intelligence and geopolitical analysis in support of client legal proceedings and strategic advising. Elton contributes skills in intelligence tradecraft, geopolitical analysis, business risk, due diligence investigations, and risk writing for business audiences.

Elton has academic and professional experience across the Latin America and the Caribbean region, including a foreign exchange at the University of Havana, Cuba. As a Program Associate at the National Democratic Institute, Elton supported programs in Central and South America ranging from high-profile election observation missions to capacity strengthening for civil society. His regional experience includes a focus on Brazil, where he has worked on electoral transparency and media initiatives.

Elton also brings experience in transatlantic affairs as a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill's Transatlantic Master's Program, where he earned dual-MA degrees from UNC and the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany through the Fulbright Program. Elton received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship from the US Department of Education, focusing on the Western Balkans. He has worked at think tanks and consultancies on both sides of the Atlantic, analyzing international financial flows at both the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington, DC, and SEEK Development in Berlin, Germany.

He speaks and researches in Spanish and Portuguese, with additional language skills in German and Albanian.

Elton Smole is an analyst and does not provide legal advice.

M.A., The Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, 2026, Social Sciences
M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2025, Political Science
B.A., Claremont McKenna College, 2021, Philosophy and Public Affairs

Areas of Work

Representative Matters

Wrote risk assessments to inform C-suite decisionmakers on developing situations impacting their operations.
Edited and contributed to flagship daily risk report for national and international law firms, covering geopolitics and governance; industry and markets; cybersecurity; science, health and culture; and economic and regulatory issues.
Provided political monitoring and risk analysis for global clients.