J. Philip Ludvigson, a former US Department of Treasury official who recently helped lead the office that chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), has joined King & Spalding as a partner on its international trade team in Washington, DC.

At the Treasury department, Ludvigson served in dual roles in the office of investment security, including as the acting deputy assistant secretary and as the founding director for monitoring and enforcement.

Before joining the department in 2019, Ludvigson served as the acting director of foreign investment risk management at the Department of Homeland Security. During his tenure, he guided the agency’s participation in both CFIUS and the committee formerly known as Team Telecom, which works in concert with the Federal Communications Commission.

In these roles, he oversaw the entire lifecycle of US national security reviews of in-bound investment, including pursuing non-notified transactions, negotiating and monitoring national security mitigation agreements, and leading the committee’s enforcement programme.

At King & Spalding, Ludvigson’s practice will focus on providing advice for clients seeking to identify and address potential CFIUS jurisdiction and risk-related concerns as they structure investments and other transactions, as well as guiding them through the filing process.

“Phil not only has unique expertise gained from his multiple roles at CFIUS, but he enhances our practice in the information, communications and technology sectors, particularly with his prior participation in the Team Telecom process, the interagency body that reviews investments in licensed telecommunications companies,” says Christine Savage, partner on the firm’s international trade team, who leads the firm’s practice in export controls, economic sanctions and national security aspects of international trade.

“As a senior official at Treasury and through several years of other government roles, Phil has developed extensive national security experience, particularly in the CFIUS regulatory, policy, and enforcement process, that will be incredibly valuable to our clients engaging in investments with foreign participation or in sensitive industry sectors,” says Zach Fardon, leader of King & Spalding’s government matters practice group, which includes the international trade team.

“He also has experience in a variety of emerging regulatory areas that have synergies with the work we do on supply chain initiatives, telecommunications, transportation, energy, critical infrastructure, and government contracts,” Fardon adds.