Ten years ago, international companies typically needed to monitor national security developments only if they were doing business with a U.S. government agency or operating in higher risk jurisdictions or sectors such as military or dual-use goods. Over the past decade, however, Western governments—led by the United States—have expanded the use of sanctions, export controls, import restrictions and investment laws to more jurisdictions and more sectors, requiring nearly every multinational company to be attuned to and anticipate developments in these laws and regulations, including those seeking to prevent espionage, theft of trade secrets, cyber attacks and other similar threats.
In addition, the governments of nations such as Russia and China have enacted an array of sanctions, export and other control measures, which can subject multinational companies to highly challenging situations with conflicting sanctions regimes. In this environment, companies and financial institutions must address a range of national security risks and considerations when establishing or executing their business operations, legal decision-making and compliance programs.
In this podcast series, Sharon Cohen Levin, Eric Kadel, Craig Jones, Nicole Friedlander, Anthony Lewis, Adam Szubin, Amanda Houle and Andrew DeFilippis discuss major developments in national security enforcement, including the Department of Justice’s increased focus on this area.
Sullivan & Cromwell’s National Security Practice draws on the expertise of a wide range of former high-level government officials with deep national security experience to offer clients holistic advice on navigating the challenges at the growing nexus between business and national security interests. Our practice includes former senior officials and attorneys from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, the Department of Justice and the national security units of multiple U.S. Attorneys’ offices. Our lawyers, including several with active security clearances and others who can reactivate their clearances on short notice, help clients around the world anticipate and respond to the rapidly changing geopolitical environment and rules addressing national and international security concerns.
Read takeaways from our podcast series.