Pillsbury Adds Jennifer Kennedy Gellie—Former DOJ Counterintelligence and Export Control Section Chief—as Partner to its Elite National Security Practice

“Jennifer’s arrival comes at a time when being able to understand and adapt to evolving U.S. sanctions and export control policies is absolutely essential to U.S. and multinational companies as well as those based outside the U.S.,” said Firm Chair David Dekker. “Her first-hand experience, deep relationships with federal government agencies, and demonstrated experience leading investigations and prosecutions of violations of national security laws make her uniquely qualified to guide clients through high-risk, high-profile national security issues.”

Gellie spent nearly a decade in national security-focused roles within DOJ, leading on numerous landmark cases involving export controls, sanctions, foreign influence, corporate crime and espionage, as well as other classified matters. She has been at the forefront of developing and executing national enforcement strategies and has directed record-setting corporate resolutions in the sanctions and export control space, as well as regulatory reforms, including the DOJ’s modernization of Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) enforcement. She will work closely with the firm’s lengthy roster of National Security and Defense Innovation clients, to whom her substantial experience working with classified information and litigating under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) will be invaluable.

“Jennifer is one of the most respected voices in the national security legal arena,” said Nancy Fischer, leader of Pillsbury’s Regulatory Group. “Her arrival reinforces our firm’s well-established position as a market leader in export control, sanctions enforcement and national security investigations at a time when government scrutiny in these areas is only intensifying. We could not be more excited to have her on the Pillsbury team.”

As the global geopolitical climate has grown increasingly complex, Pillsbury has expanded its International Trade and National Security and Defense Innovation teams to meet clients’ critical need for related legal guidance. Most recently, the firm welcomed former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen as a senior policy advisor. Earlier this year, Pillsbury welcomed a 14-lawyer, anti-dumping and countervailing duties-focused team led by international trade partners Daniel Porter, Matthew McCullough and James Durling. The firm also added space and satellite authority Jodi Goldberg, who has experience advising companies on national security reviews involving CFIUS and Team Telecom; two former senior advisors at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Sahar Hafeez and Julian Beach; and a national security lobbying team led by the former Director of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army’s Strategy and Integration Office Justin Rubin, who has experience in issues related to Foreign Ownership Control and Interest (FOCI) mitigation and other topics relevant to foreign-owned companies operating in the U.S. 

“I joined Pillsbury to combine the strength of the firm’s broad platform with my own enforcement background because that is what companies need in order to meet the current moment in national security compliance,” Gellie said. “Pillsbury is an industry leader for excellence in international trade, litigation, government investigations, and countless other areas; I feel fortunate to be able to contribute my own expertise as a force multiplier for our clients. I am excited to jump in with these superb colleagues to tackle our clients’ toughest legal challenges.

Combining in-depth knowledge of trade measures with a nuanced understanding of the related political, policy and diplomatic context, Pillsbury provides clients with the full range of legal services related to regulation of international trade and investment. Ranked by Chambers USA, Chambers Global and Chambers Greater China, the firm’s international trade team is renowned for its sophisticated work on export controls and sanctions, CFIUS reviews, international trade agreements, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), customs compliance and a host of other complex and sensitive national security matters.