National Security

In our interconnected global economy, national security threats are increasingly impacting the private sector. The US Government and its trading partners have implemented a legal framework to address such threats that companies will need to understand and integrate into their business operations to avoid legal risk. O’Melveny’s team not only stays informed about what’s happening, but it is also in a position to anticipate what’s going to happen and how the world will respond.

The lawyers in O’Melveny’s National Security Group bring a sophisticated understanding of international business operations and decades of experience advising companies about national security law. Our team features former senior government officials who helped develop and implement the very rules and regulations companies must now navigate—the kind of real-world experience that few firms credibly offer.

Our team covers the full suite of national security laws:

• National Security Reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). We offer strategic counseling on foreign investment matters, including representing parties in transactions under CFIUS review.
• Economic Sanctions and Export Controls. We help clients resolve enforcement issues and proactively counsel them on compliance in these related areas.
• Technology Supply Chain. We help companies plan for and comply with evolving technology review regimes to avoid disruption to their supply chains and operations.
• Cyber and Electronic Surveillance. We advise clients on evolving regulatory requirements designed to address cyber threats and help them manage the risk of ransomware attacks.
• Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”). Our lawyers counsel US and non-US clients on regulatory issues and sensitive AML matters, including anticipating and mitigating risks relating to illicit finance, fraud, terrorist financing, and other illegal activity, and about the implications of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
• Anti-Corruption. Our team guides multinational companies in myriad industries on complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar statutes around the world, and defends clients in any investigations related to those laws and regulations.
• Customs Laws. We advise clients on compliance issues relating to classification, country-of-origin and valuation, and assist them in responding to any inquiry involving customs laws, as well as the expanding legal regime prohibiting the importation of goods manufactured with forced labor.
• Anti-Boycott. We help clients comply with all rules administered by the US Departments of Commerce and Treasury.

And we support clients in a range of contexts:

• Transactions. Where national security issues are implicated by a transaction, we advise clients on regulatory requirements, diligence, appropriate contractual protections, and post-closing integration.
• Strategic Counseling. We work with companies to achieve their business goals in the face of evolving national security developments.
• Compliance Counseling. We develop national security compliance programs and conduct compliance risk assessments.
• National Security–Related Investigations. We help defend clients in all variety of civil and criminal national security investigations. Our most notable recent matters have been related to technology and China.
• Agency Actions, Rulemakings, and Proceedings. Whenever a government action could adversely affect our client’s interests, we help manage a response to protect those interests. We also guide our clients through any regulatory proceeding, including foreign investment reviews conducted by CFIUS.