Christian C. Contardo
Christian Contardo advises clients across industries, including the technology, defense, finance, and industrial sectors, on a variety of national security and global trade matters. Utilizing his US government law enforcement and intelligence community experience concerning economic sanctions and export controls, data privacy and security, and foreign intelligence, Christian counsels clients on Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviews, import and export controls regulated by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, anti-money laundering, related compliance programs, and geopolitical risks in business transactions.
Christian also advises clients on related issues such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), export and sanctions compliance and licensing, foreign ownership and control, and facility clearances. Additionally, Christian represents clients in enforcement proceedings before the US Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Bureau of Industry of Security, and OFAC. He conducts investigations into potential ITAR and EAR export control and OFAC sanctions violations as well as foreign investment reviews before CFIUS.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Christian served as an attorney advisor at the Department of the Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), including the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. There, he provided guidance on legal issues involving the Bank Secrecy Act, intelligence, economic sanctions, CFIUS matters, counterintelligence/insider threat programs, anti-money laundering, security clearance investigations, information security, and data privacy.
Christian also worked at Department of Justice (DOJ), National Security Division, where he represented the government before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. At DOJ, he obtained court orders and warrants authorizing electronic surveillance and search in sensitive intelligence operations pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); developed FBI counterintelligence and export control investigations; conducted compliance training; and advised FBI senior leadership, special agents, and intelligence analysts.
In addition, Christian served as a deputy chief for national security law at the Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE), where he led a team supporting ICE counterterrorism investigations and advised senior DHS leadership on legal and policy issues in federal investigations involving immigration, counterterrorism, espionage, visa security, fraud, and export control.
