Washington, DC – November 9, 2021 – Bridget Reineking has joined Cooley's Washington, DC, office as special counsel in the firm's international trade and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) practice. Reineking arrives from the US Department of the Treasury, where she directed the Office of the General Counsel's national security work as senior counsel and lead counsel for the Office of Investment Security. In that role, she supervised the legal analyses and resolution of 600+ transactions reviewed by CFIUS and played a lead part in implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the broadest expansion of CFIUS's powers in 30 years.
"Bridget is a pivotal addition to our international trade and CFIUS team, which is in extraordinary demand from Cooley's technology, life sciences and investor clients as they navigate the increasingly complex regulatory regimes that govern foreign investment in US businesses and real estate," said Christopher Kimball, head of Cooley's CFIUS practice. "Her experience at the Treasury will afford our clients unique insight into CFIUS' perspective on the thorny jurisdictional and enforcement issues of the day. With Bridget on board, our CFIUS team is positioned to offer a full suite of integrated regulatory capabilities – including export control, sanctions and government contracts – under one roof."
At the Treasury Department, Reineking provided counsel to senior officials of the interagency in connection with CFIUS' review of notified and non-notified foreign investment transactions across a range of industries. Additionally, she was a primary drafter of the regulations implementing FIRRMA and principally responsible for their interpretation and application. Reineking informed CFIUS' enforcement actions, negotiated national security agreements with US businesses and foreign investors on behalf of the government, and advised on Treasury's response to litigation relating to CFIUS authorities. She also worked with the US export control agencies on various rulemakings and coordinated with the National Security Council and the US Department of Justice on legal assessments informing broader US national security and investment policy.
A current US Army Reserve officer, Reineking serves as chief of intelligence law for her legal operations detachment. She is a guest lecturer for the National Defense University on topics relating to US national security and interagency processes. Reineking started her career at Latham & Watkins, where she represented companies, financial institutions and funds in connection with transactional and regulatory matters touching upon US economic and trade sanctions and US national security. She earned her JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School.
"I have observed and worked with all practitioners of the CFIUS bar over the past few years, and Cooley has stood out among the frequent filers as a strong and interdisciplinary team," said Reineking. "The firm's regulatory specialists represent the best of the best in tech. I look forward to bringing my energy and experience to a fast-growing practice that is poised to bring broad-spectrum service to its clients."
Cooley's CFIUS and national security practice is among the most active and experienced in the US when it comes to counseling companies and investors, representing clients in formal national security reviews, and addressing post-closing CFIUS inquiries. The CFIUS team advises 1,000+ clients each year and has unparalleled insight into the national security issues arising from foreign investments in every industry imaginable. The group works shoulder-to-shoulder with Cooley's leading corporate teams and understand the commercial realities that require business-friendly approaches to managing regulatory risks.
