Cravath Builds in DC With National Security Division Counsel

Cravath Swaine & Moore is adding a longtime National Security Division official Michael Patrick Daly to its ranks in Washington after a string of partner departures earlier this year.

Daly is joining the firm as a partner in its corporate practice, the firm announced Monday.

Daly spent more than a decade within the National Security Division of the Department of Justice and most recently advised assistant attorney general for National Security John Eisenberg on matters related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, and the Data Security Program, among others.

Michael Daly

Cravath

The division, which is tasked with prosecuting those responsible for terrorist attacks and combatting foreign terrorist cartels, is currently facing “unprecedented” workforce constraints due to staffing attrition.

In his new role at the firm, Daly will advise US and international clients on the regulatory aspects of complex cross-border transactions and matters involving CFIUS.

“Mike brings deep experience in national security and foreign investment matters central to the regulatory process our clients consider when pursuing cross-border investments,” said Cravath presiding chair Faiza Saeed in a statement.

Daly is the newest addition to Cravath, which earlier this year saw several partner departures to competitors and in-house roles.

Among those departures was Jelena McWilliams, former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, who left in January for an executive role at fintech company Plaid Inc. McWilliams was one of the first partners to join the firm’s newly launched Washington, DC office in 2022, overseeing it as office managing partner and leading the firm’s financial institutions group.

With Daly’s addition, the firm now has 14 lawyers in the nation’s capital that includes ex government officials such as former FTC commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips, former associate director at the SEC Jennifer Leete, and Jeffrey Rosen, the former acting attorney general in President Donald Trump’s first term. Leete now serves as managing partner of Cravath’s DC office.

Daly, a former Mayer Brown lawyer, joined the National Security Division in 2013 as an adviser in the special operations unit of its Office of Intelligence before becoming attorney adviser in the Foreign Investment Review Section. He also served as Acting Deputy Chief of the foreign investment section.

“Cravath is widely known for its depth of expertise across the most complex transactional and regulatory matters,” Daly said in a statement.

“I am delighted to join this premier team, and look forward to working alongside them in guiding clients through their most consequential cross-border investments,” he said.