In a timely strategic move, eminent Wall Street law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, is initiating a national security practice. This decision is made in the light of the US government’s increasing thrust on corporate enforcement blending with security interests.
With prominent clients such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., and Barclays, Sullivan & Cromwell is venturing into this new practice to address the intensifying concentration on national security. This extends into areas like sanctions, cybersecurity, and mergers and acquisitions.
The professional leading the newly formed practice is Nicole Friedlander, a former federal prosecutor. In an interview, Friedlander explained how the interpretation of national security by the government has been progressively broadening. This deepening focus on national security, she said, has experienced a boost is recent years, across both the regulatory and enforcement spheres.
Significantly, this step is consequent to the recent induction of Amanda Houle and Andrew DeFilippis, both former national security attorneys serving the US Attorney’s office for New York’s Southern District. Prior to her assignment at Sullivan & Cromwell in September, Houle oversaw the office’s national security and international narcotics unit, as per her LinkedIn profile.
Friedlander, who also co-supervises Sullivan & Cromwell’s cybersecurity practice, will be heading the national security group alongside colleagues like Adam Szubin. An ex-director of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and a member of the Firm’s financial services group, Szubin’s sophisticated expertise in the field strengthens the team.
In terms of financial performance, the firm concluded 2023 with gross revenue worth $1.9 billion and profits per equity partner amounting to $6.3 million. These figures represent minor increases from the previous year, as per American Lawyer data.
Sullivan & Cromwell joins the league of counterparts fortifying their position for corporate assignments intersecting with national security. Earlier in January, O’Melveny & Myers declared the formation of a national security enforcement task force. Debevoise & Plimpton also onboarded Rick Sofield, a former Director of the Justice Department’s Foreign Investment Review Staff from Vinson & Elkins, as the Chair of their national security group the same month.