Last week, GW Law’s National Security, Cybersecurity, and Foreign Relations Law Program and the National Security Law Association hosted a “National Security Careers in Law Firms” panel to a full audience in the Burns Moot Court Room. The panel, moderated by Professor of Practice Jonathan Cedarbaum, featured partners from four law firms whose practices span different aspects of national security law, each with impressive and varied career paths. The panelists described how they entered the field and outlined the scope of their current work. They highlighted the tremendous growth of national security practice areas in recent years, particularly export controls, sanctions compliance, and matters relating to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Panelists encouraged students to take advantage of GW Law's Washington, D.C. location —the epicenter of national security legal practice—by pursuing relevant clerkships and internships and by building connections with practitioners in the field. They also fielded student questions on the effectiveness of national security policy, interactions with the U.S. and foreign governments, and anticipated developments in the years ahead. A key piece of advice was to stay closely attuned to current legal and policy debates, and the arguments behind them, to deepen understanding and stand out in the field.
A huge thank you to panelists Les Carnegie (Latham & Watkins), Brandon L. Van Grack (Morrison Foerster), Julie Edelstein (Wiggin and Dana LLP), and Bijan Ganji, JD '10 (Milbank LLP), as well as to the GW Law students in attendance who made the National Security Careers in Law Firms Panel such a successful event.