People
Catherine Hein
Biography
Catherine Hein advises clients on transactions that intersect with national security regulations, with a particular focus on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Outbound Investment Security Program, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Catherine helps foreign and domestic clients, including global market-leading companies, private equity funds, asset managers, and sovereign wealth funds, navigate the U.S. national security regulatory landscape.
She draws on extensive private practice experience with financial transactions as well as public sector service to help clients negotiate cross-border transactions, including with:
CFIUS reviews and mitigation agreements
U.S. economic sanctions
Restrictions on U.S. investment into China, Hong Kong, and Macau
She brings credibility and depth on CFIUS, advising on structuring and compliance strategies, along with versatility across sanctions and other related trade and national security issues.
Prior to joining the firm, Catherine served as Acting Principal Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement & Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), where she supported OFAC and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). She previously served as the CFIUS Managing Counsel at Treasury, where she led a team of more than 20 lawyers on foreign investment reviews by CFIUS. In these roles, she advised senior Treasury leadership and interagency stakeholders on policy, statutory authorities, and regulatory requirements in connection with foreign investment reviews, economic sanctions, and other U.S. national security matters. She worked extensively on all aspects of CFIUS cases, including non-notified transactions, negotiating complex mitigation agreements, and compliance and enforcement actions.
Practice areas
- Sanctions and international trade
- Trade, commodity and export credit finance
- Foreign direct investment and CFIUS
Sectors
- Defense
Selected experience
- A portfolio company of a private equity fund in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of natural gas power plants.
- A private equity firm in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of a company that designs and manufactures engineered systems and solutions for industrial and transportation applications.
- A German technology company in securing CFIUS approval for its acquisition of certain assets of a U.S. chipmaker with a foundry in California.
- A nanotechnology company in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of its proprietary quantum dot technology, including intellectual property and R&D facilities.
- A European private equity company in connection with CFIUS clearance for the sale to a special purpose acquisition company of an aerospace business with subsidiaries that sell parts for submarines and aircraft carriers.
- A software development company in securing CFIUS clearance for the acquisition of a global identity verification company.
- A Saudi entity on a CFIUS filing in connection with an investment in an aerospace company that develops high-altitude platform stations and critical technologies.
- A Japanese company on a CFIUS filing in connection with an investment in a publicly traded insurance company.
- A real estate investment trust company in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of commercial properties to a sovereign wealth fund.
- The acquisition of a leading provider of defense products and services by a German company, including filings before CFIUS, DCSA, and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
Education
- J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 2002
Admissions
- Admitted to the State of New York in 2003
- Admitted to the District of Columbia in 2023
