Global law firm K&L Gates welcomes Guillermo Christensen as a partner in the antitrust, competition, and trade regulation practice. He joins K&L Gates from Ice Miller, where he served as office managing partner in Washington, DC.
Drawing on his national security background, Christensen counsels clients in dealing with economic sanctions and embargoes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including complex technology matters involving other countries or fast-moving compliance questions around ransomware payments. His work in national security-related mergers, acquisitions, and investments includes those requiring review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) or involving export controls. In the CFIUS context, Christensen has worked in particular on high-technology, defense sector, and critical infrastructure deals involving China, Russia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Relying on his international investigation experience and technical knowledge, Christensen helps clients deal with serious cybersecurity and data privacy challenges, ranging from conducting information security risk assessments that take a “whole of company” approach, to managing incident responses to security incidents and breaches, particularly those where a nation-state or insider threat may be involved. He is regularly brought in to manage the response to complex cyberattacks involving ransomware, supply chain vulnerabilities, and economic espionage.
Internationally, Christensen has represented clients in complying with anti-corruption laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and OFAC investigations and voluntary disclosures. His work includes handling cross-border investigations, compliance reviews, and pre-acquisition diligence and post-acquisition integration. He has investigated matters in South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East involving companies operating in the energy, high-technology, defense, and transportation sectors. He also advises companies on the adequacy of internal controls and compliance policies and has established and set up compliance programs for companies expanding into international markets.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Christensen was an intelligence officer with the CIA for 15 years in a variety of domestic and international assignments. His experience included inter-agency roles with the Departments of Defense and State, the FBI, and several national intelligence fusion centers. In 2001, he was selected by the CIA Director to serve as the National Intelligence Fellow to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, a position designated for an officer on the cusp of senior leadership within the U.S. intelligence community.
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