MoFo strengthens up national security team by hiring top DoJ lawyer

MoFo strengthens up national security team by hiring top DoJ lawyer

Brandon Van Grack, a former Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecutor, was associated with several big-ticket cases

The US-based international law firm Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has brought on board a big catch in the former US prosecutor Brandon Van Grack as co-chair of its national security and global risk, and crisis management groups.

Brandon Van Grack is the second DoJ lawyer to join MoFo in 2021 following the arrival of investigations and white-collar defence partner Brian Kidd.

Van Grack has joined the firm while two of MoFo's senior partners have moved to the DoJ after the arrival of Joe Biden administration in the US.

Van Grack will co-chair the firm's national security practice alongside John Smith and Nicholas Spiliotes, and the global risk and crisis management group alongside Robert Litt and Alex Iftimie.

Van Grack will also serve as a partner in the firm's investigations and white-collar defence group, leaving his role as chief of the DoJ's Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) unit.

MoFo with its headquarters in San Francisco is an international law firm with over 1,000 lawyers as its employees in its 17 offices spread across the US, Europe and Asia.

Interestingly, Van Grack and Brian Kidd have joined MoFo amidst reports that the legal firm is in the process of laying off 38 employees in the US and a handful in the UK due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Brandon is a well known and well respected justice department lawyer whose prosecutorial experience at the DoJ brings unparalleled capabilities in investigations, compliance and enforcement, making MoFo the go-to firm on FARA," Bradley Wine, co-chair of MoFo's global litigation department, said.

MoFo is expecting that Van Grack's arrival will further bolster the insights the firm can provide to its clients on the inner workings of the DoJ across matters such as investigations and white-collar defence, as well as sanctions and export controls.

Van Grack said: "I was immediately drawn to MoFo's expertise and deep bench for handling all manner of investigations and litigation, including matters involving CFIUS, cyber-attacks, FCPA and export control."

Van Grack and Kidd are the latest addition to a long line of former senior government officials to join MoFo in recent years, including Litt and Iftimie, as well as Charles Duross, James Koukios and Lisa Phelan.

Van Grack had led the investigation and prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and served as a member of the trial team that prosecuted President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort.