Skadden is pleased to announce that Brooks Allen, a former assistant general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), is joining the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as counsel in its National Security Group. Mr. Allen will focus on reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and international trade issues, as well as litigation, international arbitration and other aspects of national security trade and export controls. Mr. Allen’s arrival follows the announcement of former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish’s return to Skadden as a partner in the same group.
Most recently, as an assistant general counsel, Mr. Allen played a lead role in the USTR’s investigation into China’s acts, practices and policies related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. He helped author the USTR’s Section 301 report and update, negotiated the Phase One trade agreement with China and chaired a subcommittee focusing on the implementation of China’s technology transfer commitments under the trade agreement. In addition, Mr. Allen served as lead counsel negotiating the investment and state-owned enterprise chapters of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which took effect July 2020.
Within CFIUS, Mr. Allen served as lead counsel for the USTR and participated in deliberations and decision-making in hundreds of cases. He also represented the USTR in developing a new set of regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) legislation, which transformed CFIUS procedures and mandate. Additionally, Mr. Allen brings extensive experience in international dispute resolution, including disputes before the World Trade Organization and international arbitration matters. Mr. Allen is one of few practitioners to have experience negotiating investment treaty provisions and acting as counsel in disputes arising under such treaties.
Skadden is also pleased to welcome Tatiana Sullivan, who will join the National Security Group in September as a senior associate. Ms. Sullivan’s prior government experience includes serving as the associate director for CFIUS operations and regulatory affairs for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), as well as a lead export control analyst for the Defense Technology Security Administration, where she worked extensively on issues involving the Export Administration Regulations and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. She served as the DoD lead for the negotiation and regulatory implementation of FIRRMA and was the chief negotiator for the department on numerous CFIUS matters. Since leaving government service, Ms. Sullivan has focused her legal practice on matters involving CFIUS, export controls and the mitigation of Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Earlier in her career, Ms. Sullivan was a trade policy associate for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and an assistant to the deputy U.S. trade representative in the USTR.
“Brooks and Tatiana’s government and private sector experience in CFIUS, trade and national security-related issues will be of tremendous value to our clients,” said Michael Leiter, head of the firm’s National Security Group. “We’re excited to welcome them to the group as we continue to grow in this ever-evolving national security landscape.”
"I’m thrilled to join Skadden’s renowned national security practice. I look forward to working alongside the outstanding lawyers in this team, and to serving clients in their most complex, high-stakes matters,” said Mr. Allen.
Prior to his time at the USTR, Mr. Allen practiced at other prominent law firms and spent seven years practicing in Geneva, Switzerland. He served as a law clerk to Judge Patrick Higginbotham on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and is a graduate of Yale University, where he obtained both his bachelor’s and law degrees. Mr. Allen also holds an M.Phil. in international relations from Cambridge University.
Ms. Sullivan previously was as an associate at another prominent law firm. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, she earned her law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law.