Reid Whitten

Reid Whitten works with clients around the world to plan, prepare and succeed in global transactions. He focuses on his clients’ cross-border investments, particularly in the technology and aerospace sectors, helping clients navigate the international trade regulations that could disrupt their deals.

Reid is the Managing Partner of Sheppard Mullin's London office, practicing in international trade regulations and investigations. He shares his time serving clients out of the Washington, D.C. office. He is also Leader of the Sheppard Mullin CFIUS Team.

Areas of Practice

In the areas of economic sanctions, export and defense exports, CFIUS, anti-corruption and tariffs, Reid supports clients in detecting and addressing potential compliance issues as well as conducting investigations and defending against enforcement actions. He also advises on U.S. anti-dumping, anti-money laundering and anti-boycott regulations.

Reid is a thought leader on cross-border business regulations. He lectures as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the New College of the Humanities in London, at the Universite Catholique de Lille, in France and at Wake Forest University in the U.S., where he teaches courses on the law of international business. Reid is also a member of Chatham House, the UK's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Reid writes and comments regularly and is called on by television news channels, international newspapers and trade publications to provide analysis on the latest changes to cross-border transactional regulations. He is the lead author and editor of The CFIUS Book and is the head of the firm's CFIUS Team. In addition, Reid conducts seminars on regulatory updates to industry groups in the U.S., France, Belgium, Spain and the UK.

Reid is fluent in French.

Honors

•Washington D.C. Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2013-2017

Digital Media

Nota Bene Episode 62: The Intersection of Emerging Technologies, Foreign Investments, and Export Controls with Reid Whitten

Insights

Articles

•Perspectives: Organisational Integrity as a New Approach To Compliance
Risk & Compliance, 10.2019
•Growth In Global Export Controls Could Harm Tech Industry
Law360, 09.04.2019
•A Wave of Export Regulation to Hit US Technologies
Risk & Compliance, April-June 2019 issue
•U.S. to Streamline Small Arms, Ammo Export Regulations
National Defense, 01.09.2019
•EU Blocking Statutes, Iran Sanctions, and the Businesses Caught in Between
World Export Control Review, 09.2018
•Why CFIUS Intervened In Broadcom’s Bid For Qualcomm
Law360, 03.20.2018
•Movements Without Motion In Russian Sanctions Policy
Law360, 02.09.2018
•Sheppard Mullin Discusses the Future of CFIUS After Proposed Reforms
Columbia Law School's Blue Sky Blog, 01.22.2018
•Predicting the Unpredictable: Foreign Investment Under the Trump Administration
The National Law Review, 03.16.2017
•Foreign Investment Under Trump Administration
The National Law Review, 03.15.2017
•The Undoing Project - Why NAFTA Can’t be Undone, but Can be Re-Done
The National Law Review, 01.13.2017
•The Table Flip: Trump, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and American Business
The National Law Review, 12.07.2016
•Those Three Little Words: OFAC’s Subtle Language Shift Could Create Sweeping Change on Iran Investment
National Law Review, 10.11.2016
•Layover in Tehran: United States Authorizes Carriers to Land Civil Aircraft in Iran
The National Law Review, 08.17.2016
•New Business Opportunities in Iran - Can You Bank on It?
Financier Worldwide, 06.2016
•The Morning After: Waking up to Brexit and Its Impact on Your Business
The National Law Review, 06.24.2016
•Europe Opens Routes for Sanctioned Iran Airline: Flying the Too-Friendly Skies?
The National Law Review, 06.09.2016
•New Business Opportunities in Iran! But Who Will Be Your Banker? Non-U.S. Banks Hesitant to Process Lawful Iran Transactions...and for Good Reason
The National Law Review, 04.20.2016
•EU-US Privacy Shield: Brace Yourself . . . or Maybe Not
The National Law Review, 03.04.2016
•The Day of North Korea Sanctions: the UN Imposes the Toughest North Korea Sanctions Yet While OFAC and State Designate More North Korean Entities
The National Law Review, 03.03.2016
•US and EU Iran Sanctions Lifted: How to Proceed in Aviation Sector?
The National Law Review, 01.20.2016
•Trans Pacific Partnership and Auto Industry: Will Six Thousand Pages Pave Way for Increased Exports?
The National Law Review, 11.12.2015
•Keep Your Frenemies Close: Proposed China Sanctions and the Price of Escalation
The National Law Review, 09.18.2015
•Implementation Day: Do the Rules Let You Play in the New Ballgame for Business in Iran?
The National Law Review, 07.16.2015
•They Grow Up So Fast: Alstom and the UK Bribery Act at Five Years
The National Law Review, 05.20.2015
•The Broader Problem: European Bank Creates an Easy Catch for the Long Arm of U.S. Jurisdiction
The National Law Review, 04.01.2015
•Read the Directions Carefully Before Playing: State Department Releases Military Drone Export Guidance
The National Law Review, 03.05.2015
•Change Your Entire Energy Export Policy Using This One Weird Trick! BIS “Clarifies” Short Supply Controls to Make Oil Exporting Easier
The National Law Review, 01.15.2015
•Charting A New Course for Cuba re: Diplomatic Relations with Cuba
The National Law Review, 12.17.2014
•ECR Episode XI: Rewriting the Guide to the Galaxy - Satellites Passed to Commerce Control
The National Law Review, 11.06.2014
•Bulletin: Commerce Department Statistics on the First Year of Export Control Reform
The national Law Review, 10.16.2014
•ECR Episode IX: The Export Control Reform Turns One - What are Your Plans for the Big Celebration?
The National Law Review, 10.09.2014
•Shelter from the Coming Storm: Anti-Corruption Compliance in European Public Procurement
The National Law Review, 07.15.2014
•BNP Paribas and La Resistance: Why Compliance is Not Capitulation and Cooperation Could Save an Economy - France
The National Law Review, 06.13.2014
•ECR Episode IX - The Next Wave of Export Control Reform Takes Effect on July 1, 2014, Serving up the Third Round
The National Law Review, 06.13.2014
•Just the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership): A Review of the Transatlantic Partnership Agreement One Year After It Is Introduced to America
The National Law Review, 02.06.2014
•Government Procurement: November and December 2013 and January 2014 Federal Register Update
The National Law Review, 01.22.2014
•ECR (Export Control Reform) Episode VIII: New Rules for the New Year
The National Law Review, 01.08.2014
•Co-authored chapter, U.S. Export Controls and the Cloud
Thomson Reuters Westlaw, 11.2013
•Export Control Reform (ECR) Series Episode VII: Livin’ in a Materials World - Changes to US Munitions List Category XIII
The National Law Review, 11.16.2013
•Export Control Reform (ECR) Series Episode V: Revisions to Naval Vessel and Military Vehicle Controls - A Regulatory Sea (and Land) Change
The National Law Review, 09.07.2013
•What Export Control Reform Means for You: Let Us Cl-EAR Up Changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) - Episode II: The First Change - Reevaluating your ITAR Aircraft Parts
The National Law Review, 07.12.2013
•What Export Control Reform Means for You: Let Us Cl-EAR Up Changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) - Episode I: The Basics - Five Points to Remember about Export Control Reform
The National Law Review, 07.12.2013
•$8 Million Penalty for Weak International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) Compliance: How the Price of Maintenance Beats the Cost of Repair
The National Law Review, 05.08.2013
•The Race For Riches In US-EU Trade Begins
Law360, 04.18.2013
•Is China Getting Serious or Redirecting Responsibility? New guidance on Chinese Anti-Bribery Enforcement
The National Law Review, 02.18.2013
•Things we need to be aware of when investing in Myanmar
The Korea Herald, 02.06.2013
• Loosening Satellite Export Controls
Law360, 05.04.2012
• Early Steps Toward a Streamlined Export Control System
WorldECR, 12.22.2011
• Taking Early Steps Toward Streamlined Export Control
Law360, 11.29.2011
•Prison Time and Export Controls: University Professor's Case Illustrates Dangers of Ignoring Export Compliance
The National Law Review, 10.29.2011
•Mind Your Own Businesses: UK Court Decision May Signal Pushback On Extraterritorial Enforcement of US Trade Laws
The National Law Review, 10.26.2011
•California and Florida Lead Trend of New State-Level Iran Sanctions
The National Law Review, 06.19.2011
•Federal Judge Upholds DOJ's Expansive Application Of FCPA
The National Law Review, 05.13.2011

Television Commentary

• Iran Captures UK Vessel, Sky Business News, July 22, 2019
• Huawei Blocked, Sky Business News, May 20, 2019
• U.S. Crackdown on Huawei, UK National News, May 20, 2019
• North Korea Sanctions, Sky Business News, June 12, 2018

Books

•Editor and Lead Author, The CFIUS Book , WorldECR, December 1, 2018

Blog Posts

Antitrust Law Blog

• Top 12 EU Legal Developments to Watch in 2017, January 23, 2017

FCC Law Blog

• FIRRMA Takes Form as CFIUS Enacts a New Pilot Program Targeting 'Critical Technologies', October 11, 2018
• Expanding CFIUS: New Law Strengthens And Slows Investment Review, August 17,2018

FDA Law Blog

• Personal Protective Equipment & Ventilators: How FDA Is Increasing Supply for the US Healthcare System, March 30, 2020

French Desk Blog

• Reform of Foreign Investment in the U.S.: France and Other Allied Countries Might be Exempt, July 13, 2018

Global Trade Law Blog

• UPDATED: China Trade War Scorecard: Keeping Track of Tariffs, January 16, 2020
• Chasing Huawei: BIS May Change the Rules of the Game to Target One Player, December 18, 2019
• CFIUS Proposes Rules to Implement FIRRMA, September 20, 2019
• A Chinese Export License to Get a Smart Phone? Tech-Tonic Changes in World Export Controls, August 19, 2019
• China Trade War Scorecard: Keeping Track of Tariffs, August 19, 2019
• Hua-Wait a Minute: Entity Designation Affects Non-U.S. Manufacturers’ Exports to China Tech Giant, May 21, 2019
• INTERNATIONAL TECH INVESTMENT ISSUE - Threats to Technology Investment from Global Politics: How to Succeed as Borders Tighten, April 10, 2019
• INTERNATIONAL TECH INVESTMENT ISSUE - Investments With Borders: CFIUS-Style Foreign Investment Review Goes Global, April 10, 2019
• INTERNATIONAL TECH INVESTMENT ISSUE - A Wave of Export Regulation to Hit US Technologies, April 10, 2019
• Clear for More Takeoffs: Now is the Time to Have Your Voice Heard on New Satellite and Launch Regulations, March 19, 2019
• The New Suits of Havana: How Non-U.S. Companies May Soon Be Sued for Their Business in Cuba, March 19, 2019
• Comment Deadline Extended: Export Controls on Emerging Technologies, December 11, 2018
• The Little Regulation That Will Make a Big Change in How You Do Business: Department of Commerce to Establish New Export Controls on Emerging Technologies, November 19, 2018
• CLIENT ALERT: Iran Sanctions Are Back On: Can Business Continue? November 5, 2018
• Expanding CFIUS: New Law Strengthens And Slows Investment Review, August 17, 2018
• Life in the Fast Lane: CFIUS-Free Investments, if You’re From the Right Country, August 7, 2018
• Of Course You Know, This Means War: A Strategic Update on the Trump Trade War, August 7, 2018
• Stuck in the Middle With You: EU Blocking Statutes, Iran Sanctions, and the Thousands of Businesses Caught In Between, August 7, 2018
• On FIRRMA Ground: Congress to Restrict Foreign Investment and Expand Export Controls, June 28, 2018
• Your Way-Too-Early Guide to North Korean Investment: Big Opportunities, Big Risks, and the Regulatory Guidance to Identify Both, June 7, 2018
• Client Alert: Iran Sanctions Return, May 11, 2018
• The Great Wall Against China: Washington’s Barriers to a Wave of Capital from the Far East, April 12, 2018
• Chips on Their Shoulders: CFIUS Intervenes in Broadcom’s Hostile Takeover Bid for Qualcomm, March 8, 2018
• Lurches, Leaps, Feints, and Flops: Movements Without Motion in Russian Sanctions Policy, February 8, 2017
• 2018 EU Trade, Regulatory and Competition Trends, February 8, 2018
• Seeking foreign investors for your tech startup? Congress says, “'not so fast.'” January 10, 2018
• In-fo’ a CFIUS Review: The Expanding Power of CFIUS through Data Security Scrutiny, January 10, 2018
• The Waiting Game: When, Why, and How to File with CFIUS in a New Era of Investment Scrutiny, December 12, 2017
• The Future of CFIUS: Perhaps Not So Happy a New Year, December 12, 2017
• CFIUS for Europe? New Screening of Foreign Direct Investments in Europe, December 12, 2017
• Today, President Trump Decertified the Iran Deal and Announced Tougher Sanctions on Iran, October 13, 2017
• Growing Pains for Expanding Tech Companies: Uber Investigated for FCPA Violations, September 14, 2017
• The United States Munitions List: When Guns Come Off of the ITAR, September 14, 2017
• Section 301: The Trade Law You May Not Know Well that Could Shock Industries, August 17, 2017
• One Year From Now, You May Be Out of Iran: Trump Administration Policy and the Timeline for Snapback, August 1, 2017
• In the Chaos of (Trade) War, Where Does Your Company Find Peace? August 1, 2017
• Dinner Table Conversation: How an Offhand Comment May Signal a Shift in the Global Trade of Semiconductors, June 22, 2017
• Oh, Hadn’t You Heard? You’re Violating French Law Right Now! France Gets Serieuse about Anti-Corruption, June 22, 2017
• Predicting the Unpredictable: Foreign Investment Under the Trump Administration, March 15, 2017
• The Undoing Project - Why NAFTA Can’t be Undone, but Can be Re-Done, January 13, 2017
• The Table Flip: Trump, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and American Business, December 7, 2016
• Those Three Little Words: OFAC’s Subtle Language Shift Could Create Sweeping Change on Iran Investment, October 10, 2016
• Layover in Tehran: United States Authorizes Carriers to Land Civil Aircraft in Iran, August 17, 2016
• The Morning After: Waking up to Brexit and Its Impact on Your Business, June 24, 2016
• Flying the Too-Friendly Skies? Europe Opens Routes for Sanctioned Iran Airline, June 9, 2016
• New Business Opportunities in Iran! But Who Will Be Your Banker? Non-U.S. Banks Hesitant to Process Lawful Iran Transactions...and for Good Reason, April 20, 2016
• The Day of North Korea Sanctions: the UN Imposes the Toughest North Korea Sanctions Yet While OFAC and State Designate More North Korean Entities, March 3, 2016
• EU-US Privacy Shield: Brace Yourself . . . or Maybe Not, March 3, 2016
• US and EU Iran Sanctions Lifted: How to Proceed in the Aviation Sector? January 20, 2016
• Airplanes, Pistachios, and a New Burger Joint in Tehran: What Changes for the United States Under Lighter Iran Sanctions, January 20, 2016
• The Trans Pacific Partnership and the Auto Industry: Will Six Thousand Pages Pave the Way for Increased Exports? November 12, 2015
• Keep Your Frenemies Close: Proposed China Sanctions and the Price of Escalation, September 17, 2015
• Implementation Day: Do the Rules Let You Play in the New Ballgame for Business in Iran? July 16, 2015
• The Broader Problem: European Bank Creates an Easy Catch for the Long Arm of U.S. Jurisdiction, April 1, 2015
• Read the Directions Carefully Before Playing: State Department Releases Military Drone Export Guidance, March 5, 2015
• Change Your Entire Energy Export Policy Using This One Weird Trick! BIS “Clarifies” Short Supply Controls to Make Oil Exporting Easier, January 15, 2015
• A New Latitude: Charting a Course for Cuba, December 17, 2014
• Military Electronics Export Reform: Let the Chips Fall Where They May, December 4, 2014
• ECR Episode XI: Rewriting the Guide to the Galaxy - Satellites Passed to Commerce Control, November 6, 2014
• Bulletin: Commerce Department Statistics on the First Year of Export Control Reform, October 16, 2014
• ECR Episode IX: The Export Control Reform Turns One - What are Your Plans for the Big Celebration? October 9, 2014
• Shelter from the Coming Storm: Anti-Corruption Compliance in European Public Procurement, July 15, 2014
• BNP Paribas and La Resistance: Why Compliance is not Capitulation and Cooperation Could Save an Economy, June 12, 2014
• ECR Episode IX - Serving up the Third Round: The Next Wave of Export Control Reform Takes Effect on July 1, 2014, June 12, 2014
• Just the TTIP: A Review of the Transatlantic Partnership Agreement One Year After It Is Introduced to America, February 6, 2014
• ECR Episode VIII: New Rules for the New Year, January 8, 2014
• ECR Series Episode VII: Livin’ in a Materials World - Changes to USML Category XIII, November 13, 2013
• ECR Series Episode V: Revisions to Naval Vessel and Military Vehicle Controls - A Regulatory Sea (and Land) Change, September 5, 2013
• Export Control Reform Series Episode I: The Basics - Five Points to Remember about Export Control Reform, July 11, 2013
• Export Control Reform Series Episode II: The First Change - Reevaluating your ITAR Aircraft Parts, July 11, 2013
• $8 Million Penalty for Weak ITAR Compliance: How the Price of Maintenance Beats the Cost of Repair, May 7, 2013
• Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: The Race for Riches in U.S.-EU Trade Begins with a Mandate from the European Commission, April 2, 2013
• Streamlining the System: More Baby Steps Toward Reducing Export Compliance Burdens, April 2, 2013
• Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain: The Mysterious Methods to CFIUS Approval, March 8, 2013
• Is China Getting Serious or Redirecting Responsibility? New guidance on Chinese Anti-Bribery Enforcement, February 14, 2013
• Foreign Investment in Burma: Resolutions for Business in a Very New Year, January 9, 2013
• Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone? Companies Face the Choice: Trip Over the SEC’s New Reporting Requirements or Use them to Launch Strong and Effective Compliance Measures, September 27, 2012
• OFAC Authorizes the Exportation of Financial Services to and New Investment in Myanmar, August 17, 2012
• ALERT - Changes Coming to Europe’s Dual-Use Export Regulations, July 11, 2012
• OFAC’s (Very) Long Arm: GAM Settlement May Illustrate the ITR’s Expanding Reach, June 7, 2012
• A Man Overboard Will Not Sink the Ship: How Robust FCPA Compliance Can Keep a Company Out of Hot Water Even When An Executive is Neck Deep, May 1, 2012
• Proposed Easing of Satellite Export Controls Could Benefit U.S. Satellite Industry, May 1, 2012
• On The List, Off The Menu: How 5 Major ITAR Shippers Disappeared, March 14, 2012
• Risk Mitigation and the Jolly Roger: The Multinational Regulatory Compliance Challenges of Fighting Pirates, February 21, 2012
• Even the Bagman: Foreign Agent Sentenced to Thirty Month Prison Term for FCPA Violations, January 17, 2012

Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Blog

• Government Procurement: November and December 2013 and January 2014 Federal Register Update, January 21, 2014
• Aiming for a Moving Target: Bad and Good News on Changing Iran Sanctions, December 9, 2011
• Early Steps Toward a Streamlined Export Control System: Proposed Changes to the ITAR and EAR, November 16, 2011
• Mind Your Own Businesses: UK Court Decision May Signal Pushback On Extraterritorial Enforcement of US Trade Laws, October 24, 2011
• Prison Time and Export Controls: University Professor's Case Illustrates Dangers of Ignoring Ex

Media Mentions

•More Uncertainty, Less Storage Space Following Brexit Extension
Corporate Counsel, 04.24.2019
•Need a second opinion?
WorldECR, 02.2019
•CFIUS Backlog Will Only Worsen As Shutdown Carries On
Law360, 01.15.2019
•Chinese tech investors flee Silicon Valley as Trump tightens scrutiny
Reuters, 01.06.2019
•Companies Aren't Commenting on Future of Tech Export Controls: Why Not?
Corporate Counsel, 01.02.2019
•Justice penale : entreprises, dirigeants, salaries, tous concernes, tous complices?
Les Echos, 07.10.2018
•Congress Seen Adding Clarity to Tricky Path for Foreign Deals
Bloomberg Law, 07.02.2018
•2018 Singapore Summit
Sky News, 06.12.2018
•2018 EU Competition & Regulatory Trends
Sheppard Mullin EU Competition Alert, 01.24.2018
•Factbox: What are the rules Airbus admits to breaking in U.S.?
Reuters, 10.31.2017
•EU unveils plans for scaled-down public prosecutor’s office
Global Investigations Review, 03.10.2017

Speaking Engagements

• Briefing: Key Changes in EU AML and US Sanction Regimes, Bird & Bird Program on Anti-Money Laundering and U.S. Sanctions, London, September, 2018
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, In-House Counsel Forum, Seoul, November, 2016
• Inside Washington: Law, Development and Diplomacy, ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC), July 24, 2013
•Panelist, ITAR and EAR Compliance Review and Investigations: Conducting Internal Audits and Determining Whether to Disclose Potential Violations to Mitigate Penalties, Strafford Webinar, June 26, 2013
•Panel Chair and Moderator, Navigation without Maps: The Young Lawyer and the New Industry of International Anti-Bribery Compliance and Investigation, ABA International Fall Meeting, October, 2012
• Pathways to International Law, ABA Section of International Law
•Panelist, George Washington Law School, March 10, 2011
•Panelist, Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, October 18, 2011
•Panelist, University of Baltimore School of Law, November 3, 2011
•Panelist, International Law Student Association-Jessup Competition Finals Conference, March 30, 2012
•Panelist, ABA International Section Spring Meeting, April 17, 2012
•Panelist, ABA International Legal Education Summit, October 19, 2013

Events

•Global Compliance and Investigation Essentials
Sheppard Mullin San Francisco, 04.30.2019

•Defense Exports 2015
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Fall 2015