Menno Goedman

Menno is a trial-focused litigator who represents clients in high-stakes disputes, sensitive government and internal investigations, and matters involving national security. He brings substantial courtroom experience from both the public and private sectors, and deep knowledge of national security developed over five years in his role as a prosecutor at the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Having worked at the center of some of the US government’s most sensitive investigations and prosecutions, Menno offers a distinctive perspective on complex disputes and investigations where litigation, government enforcement and national security concerns intersect.

Before joining Cooley, Menno spent five years as a national security prosecutor at the DOJ, where he investigated, charged and tried matters involving espionage, export controls, sanctions, foreign agents operating in the US, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), theft of trade secrets and the mishandling of classified information. As co-director of Task Force KleptoCapture, the Department’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he led and oversaw enforcement of US sanctions and export controls against Russia.

Menno also served as the principal prosecutor responsible for investigations into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information to the media. In that role, he litigated some of the most difficult issues at the intersection of national security and the First Amendment, including matters involving the reporter’s privilege and the Department’s News Media Policy. He is well-versed in the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) and is one of a small number of prosecutors to have used classified information at trial.

As a line prosecutor, Menno tried and led significant national security prosecutions involving Russian intelligence agents recruiting and cultivating foreign agents in the US, the unlawful export of microelectronics to Iran through China, attempted espionage by an active-duty US servicemember and a murder-for-hire plot in the US orchestrated by Iranian nationals. In one of his final cases at the Department, he brought one of the first prosecutions alleging violations of US export controls arising from the export of AI-capable NVIDIA chips to China. For his work at the DOJ, Menno received several awards from the National Security and Criminal Divisions, including multiple Awards for Excellence and the Award for Outstanding Prosecutor.

Before joining the DOJ, Menno served as a senior advisor at the US Treasury Department, focusing on congressional and legislative affairs, and worked as a litigator at a US law firm, where he represented clients in cryptocurrency class actions and affirmative litigation involving technology companies.

Menno clerked for Judge A. Wallace Tashima of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Josephine L. Staton of the US District Court for the Central District of California.