Christopher Kimball

Chris Kimball leads Cooley’s CFIUS practice and co-chairs the firm’s government contracts practice. In these roles, Chris advises companies,investors and private equity sponsors – large and small, foreign and domestic – on the regulatory and practical complexities of foreign investments in the US and of doing business with US government customers.

Chris advises hundreds of clients each year on national security issues – including with respect to whether a transaction triggers a “mandatory” CFIUS filing requirement, whether a “voluntary” CFIUS filing is warranted and how to structure transactions to avoid or mitigate CFIUS risk. To complement his CFIUS practice, Chris leverages his 16 years of government contracts experience when advising government contractors and their investors on the national security implications of foreign investments and government business relationships.

Cooley CFIUS

Cooley’s CFIUS team is among the most active and experienced in the country when it comes to counseling companies and investors, representing clients in formal national security reviews, and addressing post-closing CFIUS inquiries. Cooley’s market-leading emerging companies, fund formation and capital markets practices place the Cooley CFIUS team at the very epicenter of the national security issues of the day (i.e., foreign investments in US technology companies and other emerging and disruptive American businesses).

The Cooley CFIUS team advises more than 1,000 different clients each year and has unparalleled insight into the national security issues arising from foreign investments in every industry imaginable, from quantum computing, biotechnologies, battery technologies and autonomous vehicles. The Cooley CFIUS team works shoulder-to-shoulder with Cooley’s corporate teams and understand the commercial realities that require business-friendly approaches to managing regulatory risks. For Chris and the Cooley CFIUS team, job one is providing clients with actionable, timely and commercial advice that fosters confidence in their transactions and a clear understanding of risk.

Cooley government contracts

On the government contracts side of his practice, Chris focuses on the regulatory and judicial framework that governs all aspects of doing business with US government customers, including procurement contracts, federal R&D grants, regulatory compliance and disputes arising from all of the above. Chris' government contracts clients range from high-tech startups to established public companies, domestic and foreign.

Chris is nationally ranked by Chambers USA as a leading CFIUS practitioner. Chambers praises his “very pragmatic and business-centered approach," and clients note that “his strengths are in his knowledge of national security regulations and practical application of those to reviews and investigations conducted by CFIUS." "His depth of knowledge is invaluable."