O’Melveny announced the creation of a National Security Enforcement Task Force to help clients navigate the heightened risks posed by the increasingly aggressive national security enforcement priorities of the US Departments of Justice, Commerce, Treasury, and Homeland Security, as well as Congress.
The Task Force will provide strategic counseling to domestic and international businesses facing elevated legal and reputational risks stemming from increased enforcement of national security laws, including economic sanctions, export controls, anti-bribery, and anti-money laundering, and laws designed to combat cyber and terrorism threats, foreign influence, and forced labor.
Led by partners Steve Olson and Mark Racanelli, co-chairs of O’Melveny’s White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations Practice, and Greta Nightingale, chair of O’Melveny’s National Security Group, the Task Force is a direct response to the Justice Department’s recent infusion of significant resources into the National Security Division’s Corporate Enforcement Program.
O’Melveny advises clients in a range of business sectors and global footprints facing investigations by the DOJ and parallel civil enforcement authorities, such as the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Congress, and others. The firm also manages internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, and remediation plans, and advises on regulatory developments and best practices for reducing national security risks and ensuring compliance with a thicket of complex laws.
“Clients that engage in global trade are on the front lines of increasing national security threats, a development that makes them targets for regulatory oversight,” Racanelli said. “In addition to DOJ, many agencies are not just stepping up investigations and other enforcement actions but increasingly coordinating their efforts. We are here to help clients anticipate issues implicating national security, navigate this heightened enforcement environment, and reduce exposure of multi-front onslaughts.”
“DOJ has enhanced its expectations of private sector compliance programs and is putting increased pressure on corporations to proactively mitigate national security risks,” Nightingale added. “Our Task Force is well equipped to conduct compliance audits and risk assessments and to design and implement compliance programs that cover the national security laws on all fronts, while ensuring those practices are consistent with government expectations and tailored to each client’s business.”
The Task Force taps the collective knowledge of a team that includes former government lawyers and prosecutors with deep experience in national security regulatory matters, including O’Melveny partners:
– Steve Olson, former Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Commerce and a former prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California;
– Mark Racanelli, a former prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York;
– Greta Nightingale, ranked in Band 1 in both Chambers USA and Chambers Global in the areas of economic sanctions and export controls;
– AnnaLou Tirol, former Deputy Director of the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN);
– Sid Mody, a former prosecutor with the National Security, Cybercrime and Money Laundering Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas;
– David N. Kelley, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York;
– Rebecca Mermelstein, a former prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; and
– Jim Bowman, a former prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
O’Melveny, a global law firm with 18 offices, is home to a talented team of more than 750 lawyers who help its clients grow, protect their assets, and navigate the challenges of complex law and regulation. A combination of sophisticated legal and business counseling and impeccable service has made them counsel of choice to an ever-growing list of market leaders, creating opportunities for our people to engage in the most challenging and exciting work.
