Ropes & Gray advises businesses, investors, and financial sponsors on national security risks that can affect transactions, investments, operations, and strategic business decisions. Our national security lawyers help clients navigate government scrutiny, secure regulatory approvals, and manage legal, geopolitical, and reputational risk across jurisdictions. Our experience spans CFIUS and foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews, government investigations and litigation, economic sanctions and export controls, cybersecurity, AI governance, and other evolving national security regulatory requirements.

Experience navigating complex national security matters

We have deep experience advising clients on foreign investment and national security reviews, cross-border transactions, cybersecurity incidents, sanctions and export control matters, and complex regulatory investigations. We have successfully secured regulatory clearances from agencies worldwide, guided clients through high-stakes cybersecurity incidents and related enforcement matters, and counseled companies on evolving sanctions, export controls, and compliance obligations.

Our multidisciplinary team combines enforcement, litigation, and transactional experience with crisis management capabilities across Washington, D.C., and other global regulatory centers. We work closely with clients to navigate regulatory complexity, manage geopolitical and reputational risk, and support strategic business objectives in an increasingly complex global environment.

A team with deep national security and enforcement experience

Our National Security practice brings together partners who have spent decades navigating clients through many of the most consequential transactions and security incidents in recent years. The team includes former U.S. government officials with experience at senior levels in the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Congress. Our team includes a former Under Secretary and Chair of the Cyber Safety Review Board at DHS, and a former U.S. Attorney who served on the National Security Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. We blend commercially practical advice with real-world understanding, leveraging deep experience in both private practice and public service.

Industries and clients served

We advise public companies, private equity sponsors, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, portfolio companies, and financial institutions on national security matters affecting investments, transactions, and operations. Our experience spans strategically sensitive and highly regulated sectors, including financial services, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, technology and telecommunications, critical infrastructure, higher education and research, and manufacturing and industrials.

How We Help Clients on National Security Matters

We advise clients across the full spectrum of national security, foreign investment, regulatory, and enforcement matters.

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

Ropes & Gray advises global investment advisers, private equity and venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds, strategic acquirers, and public companies on U.S. foreign investment regulation. Our CFIUS team guides clients through transaction planning, national security reviews, mitigation negotiations, and enforcement-sensitive matters involving cross-border investments into the United States.

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Foreign direct investment regimes increasingly shape cross-border deal execution. Ropes & Gray helps companies, sponsors, and global investors navigate these regimes that increasingly shape cross-border deal execution. We advise on FDI filings, regulatory strategy, remedies, merger control coordination, and investment reviews, helping clients align transaction goals with evolving national security and subsidy-related requirements.

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Economic Sanctions and Export Controls

Ropes & Gray advises multinational companies, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, financial institutions, freight forwarders, and officers and directors on U.S., UK, and EU sanctions and export controls. Our team handles transactional diligence, compliance program design, regulatory reviews, licensing, investigations, and enforcement matters involving complex trade restrictions.

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Supply Chain and Forced Labor Compliance

Companies facing supply chain risk and forced labor compliance obligations require coordinated legal, regulatory, and operational guidance. Ropes & Gray advises companies, investors, and boards on supply chain risk, forced labor compliance, and responsible sourcing obligations across global markets. We support clients on policies and procedures, transactional diligence, customer and supplier requirements, contractual protections, risk assessments, internal and government investigations, stakeholder engagement, and incident response.

Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity

Ropes & Gray advises companies, boards, financial sponsors, and institutions on data privacy, cybersecurity and incident response. Our team handles ransomware and nation-state cyber incidents, regulatory investigations, SEC and other disclosure obligations, privacy compliance, litigation risk, and transactional diligence involving data and cyber issues.

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Crisis Management and Investigations

High-stakes crises and investigations require a coordinated, multidisciplinary response. Ropes & Gray advises companies, boards, universities, financial institutions, and investors through high-stakes crises, investigations, and enforcement matters. Our multidisciplinary team helps clients respond to government inquiries, raids, whistleblower claims, cyber incidents, data breaches, foreign influence issues, and other sensitive matters while managing legal, regulatory, and reputational risk.

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Foreign Influence

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

AI Security and Governance

AI governance and security present rapidly evolving regulatory and operational challenges. Ropes & Gray advises companies, investors, boards, and technology developers on these issues, including AI-related compliance, transactional diligence, product and operational risk, national security considerations, regulatory reviews, and emerging global requirements affecting AI, machine learning, and large language model technologies.