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The American Conference Institute's 8th National Conference on CFIUS

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On April 26, Brandon’s case study session, “Recent, Significant CFIUS Transactions and What They Reveal About Future Deals: Lesser-Known Takeaways from Magnachip, Tencent, TikTok, ByteDance, and More” will focus on the precedent-setting action taken against Magnachip Semiconductor Ltd. and practical questions arising from this case.



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Join Morrison & Foerster partners Charles Capito and Brandon Van Grack at American Conference Institute’s 8th National Conference on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on April 26 and 27, 2022. Considered the premier event for the CFIUS bar, this conference will provide invaluable insights on repositioning your transaction planning in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.On April 26, Brandon’s case study session, “Recent, Significant CFIUS Transactions and What They Reveal About Future Deals: Lesser-Known Takeaways from Magnachip, Tencent, TikTok, ByteDance, and More” will focus on the precedent-setting action taken against Magnachip Semiconductor Ltd. and practical questions arising from this case.On April 27, Charles’s session,“Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, and Debt Conversion and the Interplay with CFIUS: The Lesser-Known Takeaways for Pending and Future Transactions” will address topics including<ul><li>Determining which types of transactions are being flagged for review, and which transactions are subject to divestment orders;</li><li>Examining potential red flags when selling company assets including transactions involving personal data;</li><li>Anticipating national security concerns and proactively providing solutions during bankruptcy filing;</li><li>Deciphering the best time to make a CFIUS filing amid bankruptcy transactions; and</li><li>Coordinating multiple CFIUS filings.</li></ul>Follow this link for more information on the event and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.americanconference.com/CFIUS/">how to register.</a><hr>

The American Conference Institute's 8th National Conference on CFIUS

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Charles Capito is a partner in both Morrison Foerster’s National Security and Government Contracts + Public Procurement practices.In the National Security space, he has significant experience counseling clients on the complex and evolving considerations related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Charles frequently helps investors and U.S. businesses through every aspect of the CFIUS process, from understanding and allocating CFIUS risk on the front end, to presenting cases before the Committee, to negotiating appropriate mitigation measures, and ultimately to implementing and complying with mitigation agreements after the fact. Charles’ experience includes securing clearances for some of the largest and most sensitive cases reviewed by CFIUS, as well as dozens of more discreet transactions and investments.Charles regularly advises clients on critical regulatory regimes in the national security space. Whether in the context of specific transactions or day-to-day counseling, clients rely on Charles to help them comply with and operate under U.S. export controls, in particular, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These regimes, especially the EAR, are undergoing noteworthy and complex changes, and now play key roles in other legal regimes like CFIUS. In addition, government contractors with access to classified information and their investors go to Charles to understand their obligations under the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) and, in particular, the sensitive issues presented by foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI) in this space.Companies operating in today’s national security space are wise to take a holistic view of the legal environment incorporating not only their legal obligations today, but also the wider geopolitical landscape to plan for the future. Charles speaks and writes regularly on these and other topics in the national security space, and has been recognized by legal publications like Chambers USA and Best Lawyers for his expertise in these areas.Charles is also a seasoned Government Contracts practitioner, assisting government contractors with a wide variety of compliance and litigation issues. This includes the numerous national security issues government contractors face when they are subject to FOCI, manufacture or export defense articles under the ITAR or sensitive dual-use technology under EAR, or are required to understand and comply with recent compliance regimes like Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Charles also has years of experience on pre- and post-award bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, and contracts claims and disputes before the boards of contract appeals, and other judicial and administrative tribunals.  Additionally, he counsels clients on prime- and subcontractor disputes, small business issues, compliance with federal procurement regulations, and government contracts mergers and acquisitions.Charles graduated from Washington & Lee University School of Law, where he served as senior articles editor of the Washington & Lee Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University.

Charles Capito

Partner

Brandon L. Van Grack helps lead Morrison Foerster’s National Security group and the Crisis Management group. His practice focuses on investigations, criminal defense, and compliance matters involving export controls and sanctions, foreign investment, and cyber incidents. Brandon’s arrival to the firm follows more than a decade of service at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he held multiple senior positions. In those positions, he helped manage the U.S. government’s tools to address perceived national security threats in China and Russia, oversaw every criminal investigation involving sanctions and export controls, and was Chief of DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit.Brandon’s leadership and breadth of national security experience offers clients in the financial services, technology, artificial intelligence, defense, media, and communications sectors unmatched insider enforcement perspective across the entire national security landscape, including sanctions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), export control, cybersecurity matters, and FARA.<blockquote>“Brandon sees around corners. He tells me where the government is going.” – Chambers USA</blockquote><h4>Investigations & White Collar Defense </h4>At the DOJ, Brandon led and supervised some of the government’s most significant corporate investigations and resolutions across the national security spectrum. As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and a Trial Attorney in the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section, he worked on the resolution of almost every significant corporate matter pertaining to export control and sanctions violations in the last decade and is one of the few attorneys to have managed the DOJ’s Voluntary Self‑Disclosure Program for export control and sanctions violations. As Chief of the FARA Unit, he directed scores of investigations of companies for acting as unregistered foreign agents. A selection of Brandon’s investigation & white collar defense experience includes:<ul><li>Obtained closure letter from DOJ for Cole Engineering Services, a subsidiary of By Light Professional IT Services LLC, less than six months after federal agents executed a search warrant at the company as part of a DOJ investigation.</li><li>Obtained declination from DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section and United States Attorney’s Office for a prominent advertising and marketing agency concerning allegations that the company insiders improperly obtained and used Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.</li></ul><h4>Sanctions, Export Control, & Foreign Investment</h4>As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Brandon oversaw every criminal investigation involving export control and sanctions and led the DOJ’s response to the Obama Administration’s rollback of sanctions targeting Iran—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As a Trial Attorney, he prosecuted more than 30 export control and sanctions cases, including first-ever cases involving North Korea, weapons of mass destruction, and the Atomic Energy Act. In the first Trump Administration, Brandon led DOJ’s review of transactions involving foreign influence before CFIUS and Team Telecom; he also managed the DOJ’s review of transactions before CFIUS during the Obama Administration. A selection of Brandon’s sanctions, export control, & foreign investment experience includes:<ul><li>Obtained declination from DOJ and Department of State for individual accused of violating the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and brokering.  </li><li>Obtained declination from DOJ for CEO of a global technology company subject to criminal and civil investigations into alleged violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).</li><li>Obtained license on an expedited timeline from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for a U.S. technology and manufacturing company to winddown operations in Russia.</li><li>Represent global retailer to conduct internal investigation and draft disclosures to civil authorities pertaining to potential apparent violations of U.S. sanctions and export controls laws.</li><li>Developed U.S. sanctions compliance program for artificial intelligence company and advised on implementation, including ongoing support for compliance processes and procedures.</li><li>Led internal investigation and submitted response to OFAC subpoena for software development company regarding potential violations of multiple sanctions programs; obtained cautionary letter.</li><li>Conducted international investigation concerning federal and state material support statutes as well as related sanctions issues for prominent international organization.</li><li>Represented cryptocurrency exchange before CFIUS in one of the largest cryptocurrency-related transactions and first filing involving digital assets before the Committee.</li><li>Represented Kahoot!, a global learning platform company based in Norway, in CFIUS matters related to its acquisition of Clever Inc.</li><li>Successfully petitioned Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the release of seized property and resolved related export control disclosures with the Department of State with a “no action” letter.  </li></ul><h4>FARA & the Lobbying Disclosure Act</h4>As Chief of the FARA Unit in the first Trump Administration, and the first official to supervise all foreign influence matters across the DOJ, Brandon revitalized and transformed the enforcement of FARA. Following the DOJ’s announcement making FARA an enforcement priority, he supervised a team of 40 attorneys and staff that opened a record number of investigations, pursued a record number of enforcement actions, secured a record number of registrations, and obtained the first civil injunction involving FARA in nearly three decades. Brandon also directed the review of Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) filings for criminal violations and regulated the exemption under FARA for LDA registrants. He also wrote the book on FARA enforcement for the American Bar Association. A selection of Brandon’s FARA & Lobbying Disclosure Act experience includes:<ul><li>Obtained first-ever closure letter from DOJ FARA Unit for a technology company under investigation for potential FARA violations.</li><li>Obtained declination from DOJ for sports organization in connection with a FARA investigation. </li></ul><h4>Cybersecurity </h4>As a long-time prosecutor, including as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Brandon directed complex cyber investigations, including multiple matters involving state-sponsored cyber attacks. He prosecuted the first person convicted as a cyberterrorist and led the investigation of an international hacking group for identity theft, extortion, and dozens of spearphishing attacks against public and private entities. He also collaborated with other government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, to facilitate cooperation from corporate victims and disseminate threat information. A selection of Brandon’s cybersecurity experience includes:<ul><li>Obtained assistance from FBI and local enforcement for a data and analytics firm to disrupt cyber-enabled campaign of former employee targeting customers.</li></ul>During his time at the DOJ, Brandon handled the entire range of national security matters. He led and supervised investigations and prosecutions involving espionage, economic espionage, mishandling of classified information, and theft of trade secrets. He also directed investigations involving treason, mutiny, the Neutrality Act, and the Logan Act, and worked closely with the Department of Education on matters pertaining foreign influence, foreign funding, and national security.Brandon has been widely recognized for his deep experience in handling national security matters, and keynotes and speaks at industry conferences involving export control and sanctions, CFIUS, FARA, and political law. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service (2018), the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Cyber Investigation (2017), the Director of National Counterintelligence’s Award for Excellence (2019), the Homeland Security Investigations Executive Associate Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterproliferation Investigation (2014), and five awards from the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.Brandon regularly provides insight on national security issues and DOJ matters with national media. He is a frequent contributor on cable news, including MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Deadline: Whitehouse and All In with Chris Hayes, ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Meet the Press, CNN, BBC News, Sky News and NHK World. He also regularly appears on NPR’s Morning Edition. He has been quoted on a variety of national security topics in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post, among others,Brandon is also a Contributing Editor to the Lawfare blog and co-host of <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/podcasts-multimedia/podcast/the-regulators-series" target="_blank">The Regulators</a> podcast, where he speaks with key U.S. government regulators in the national security space, including leaders at OFAC, CFIUS, the Bureau of Industry and Security, DOJ, FinCEN, the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS), and FBI.

Brandon L. Van Grack

National Security: Economic Sanctions + Export Controls, CFIUS, FARA

The American Conference Institute's 8th National Conference on CFIUS - 576303691

The American Conference Institute's 8th National Conference on CFIUS

26 Apr 2022 - 27 Apr 2022