AI and National Security Law Discussion

Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EDT

5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. | Registration and Welcome

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Presentation 

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | Cocktail Reception

Location: Steptoe's Washington office (1330 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036)

Speakers:

• Brian Fleming, Partner, International Trade & Regulatory Compliance practice, Steptoe LLP (moderator)
  Brian focuses his practice on matters at the intersection of national security and international trade, with an emphasis on economic sanctions, export controls, and foreign direct investment. Brian advises multinational companies across a range of industries in navigating the rules and regulations administered by OFAC, BIS, and DDTC, as well as investigations and enforcement actions brought by those agencies and the DOJ. Clients also turn to Brian for advice regarding all aspects of the CFIUS process, from pre-transaction risk assessments to preparation of voluntary and mandatory CFIUS filings and management of mitigation agreements. Brian regularly advises clients on other core national security issues, including matters relating to AI and other emerging technologies, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). During his time in government, Brian served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at DOJ where he advised senior DOJ leadership on sensitive legal and policy issues pertaining to economic sanctions and export controls, CFIUS, Team Telecom, FARA, cybersecurity, and intellectual property theft, among others.
• Elizabeth "Liz" Cannon, Executive Director of Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS), BIS, US Department of Commerce
  Liz currently serves as the first Executive Director for Information and Communications Technology and Services and leads the office responsible for implementing the ICTS program for Commerce. She previously served as Senior Corporate Counsel for Global Trade with Microsoft. In that capacity, she was responsible for monitoring export controls, sanctions, and other international trade and security policy issues. She also oversaw Microsoft’s Risk Intelligence Group, which conducts due diligence and trade-related investigations.  Liz also brings more than a decade of public service and national security experience from the Department of Justice, including five years as Deputy Chief for Export Controls and Sanctions in the National Security Division. In this role, she supervised all criminal cases involving export control and sanctions violations around the country. During her service at DOJ, she prosecuted national security cases, including matters involving espionage, economic espionage, mishandling of classified information, cyber offenses, and sanctions and export control violations. 
• Colleen Mearn, Head of Enforcement for Trust and Safety, Anthropic
  Previously, she was the Head of Trust & Safety at Clubhouse and led Policy Enforcement for Harmful & Dangerous Policies at YouTube. Prior to entering the technology sector, Colleen was an Intelligence Analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• John Heflin, Director of Policy and Product Counsel, Trustible AI
  As executive director, John advises the company on AI regulatory developments and overseeing legal compliance issues for the Trustible platform. He worked on cybersecurity incident response as an Associate at Alston and Bird LLP, as well as on privacy, data security, IP, and AI at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP. He serves as Co-President of the DC LGBTQ+ Bar Association and on the board of Northern Virginia Pride. John received his JD from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Marquette University.
• Evan Abrams, Associate, International Trade & Regulatory Compliance practice, Steptoe LLP
  Evan's practice focuses on emerging technology and national security, including AI, advanced semiconductors, and FinTech. He regularly advises AI companies on topics such as export controls, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and new restrictions on bulk data transfers, among other areas. He also works with many clients in the advanced semiconductor space, including those building or offering semiconductors to train AI models. Evan was recently appointed to the New York City Bar Association's Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Technologies and its Subcommittee on AI and National Security. Along with Brian, Evan co-authored a first-of-its-kind comprehensive white paper on AI and national security law and regularly writes on topics related to AI and national security.