Our Practice

Paul, Weiss offers one of the country’s go-to practices in advising clients on national security, sanctions, export controls, FARA and CFIUS matters.

At a time when the U.S. government is increasingly focused on foreign investment in critical U.S. industries and technologies and demanding access to corporate data and other sensitive corporate information for counterterrorism and other purposes, our team is led by one of the nation’s foremost national security lawyers, and includes former senior officials from the Department of Justice, the White House, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of the Treasury with extensive experience in handling complex and sensitive national security issues and transactions.

Leveraging unparalleled experience in regulatory and white collar defense, we are uniquely positioned to help clients respond to national security and international trade-related regulatory inquiries, examinations and subpoenas; conduct internal investigations; and handle matters that develop into multiagency investigations. Our practice also encompasses regulatory advice, compliance counseling and transactional due diligence.

National Security Guidance

U.S. government agencies and law enforcement are increasingly requiring companies to cooperate with national security-related investigations, including surveillance orders and demands for access to sensitive corporate data. We know how to protect our clients, their customers’ data and their most important trade secrets, and have deep experience negotiating with the executive branch or litigating such issues in the courts.

We are also adept at providing real-time guidance in the immediate aftermath of a national security or CFIUS-related adverse event. No firm is better placed to engage multiple U.S. government agencies in parallel matters; advise on strategic communications; respond to Congressional inquiries; and proactively manage longer-term litigation and regulatory fallout.

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

A host of cross-border transactions fall within the purview of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal interagency committee that reviews foreign investment in critical U.S. industries, including technology, aerospace and defense, fintech, health care, industrial and other high-priority sectors.  CFIUS supports the President and the rest of the executive branch by monitoring the national security risks brought by foreign investments in U.S. businesses and has the authority to prohibit, mitigate, and even unwind transactions that it determines may adversely affect U.S. national security.  CFIUS is a rapidly expanding element of the U.S. government’s national security toolkit.  As the U.S. government increasingly requires companies to cooperate with inbound and outbound investment regimes, transacting parties will need to engage national security experts to analyze the implications of cross border transactions. In this complex regulatory landscape, our National Security and CFIUS practice is uniquely positioned to advise and represent clients worldwide on such issues.

Our CFIUS practice includes experienced, high-ranking former officials from key CFIUS Agencies, including the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the White House, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Treasury, as well as regulatory defense and crisis management specialists with a wealth of experience handling complex and sensitive national security issues and transactions.

We advise a range of private and public clients on all CFIUS matters, from assessing CFIUS filing considerations to navigating the CFIUS filing process, and for all industry sectors.  Our experience includes some of the largest, most complex transactions CFIUS has reviewed.  More specifically, our capabilities include:

• jurisdictional, strategic, and risk counseling;
• deal-structuring and filings;
• non-notified investigations and enforcement actions; and
• mitigation measures, including national security agreements and other mitigation tools.

Proactive Advice

We help clients understand fast-changing regulations, regulatory expectations, disclosure obligations and industry standards related to national security and CFIUS. Our focus is on mitigating problems before they arise, including:

• developing “best in class” compliance frameworks to identify and address data collection, sharing, use and retention practices that may give rise to national security, privacy, consumer protection or other regulatory risks;
• analyzing the viability, legality and risk of proposed products, practices and business models in connection with national security laws or privacy regulations;
• counseling organizations and individuals in sensitive and high-stakes matters relating to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and offering extensive practical, risk-based guidance on the law’s applicability, as well as conducting domestic and cross-border FARA investigations;
• counseling global companies on supply chain management and supply chain security, including compliance with forced labor laws such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA);
• conducting internal investigations and crafting national security and export controls policies and procedures tailored to both external and internal risks; and
• reviewing and implementing crisis management and disaster recovery plans.

The practice is buttressed by our firm’s industry-leading cybersecurity and data protection, sanctions and export controls, internal investigations, Anti-Money Laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and congressional investigations groups, as well as the nation’s foremost litigation department.