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October 03, 2011 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Perkins Coie announced today that a senior member of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, which oversees DOJ’s nationwide counterterrorism, counterespionage, and export-control programs, has joined the firm. Todd Hinnen, who served in the National Security Division as both Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Law and Policy and Acting Assistant Attorney General, a role in which he managed all aspects of the 320-attorney division, begins as a partner in the firm’s Washington, DC office effective immediately.

“I look forward to using my government experience to assist private companies interacting with the law-enforcement and national-security communities. Perkins Coie has a long, distinguished history of representing technology and defense industry leaders in such matters. This is a great fit for me.”
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Hinnen previously worked as a prosecutor in the Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, as a Director in the National Security Council’s Directorate for Combating Terrorism, and as Chief Counsel to then-Senator Joseph Biden. His wide-ranging responsibilities on national-security and law-enforcement issues have included supervising the federal government’s major terrorism- and espionage-related investigations and prosecutions, representing DOJ on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and testifying before Congress on a variety of intelligence issues, including expiring Patriot Act authorities.

Hinnen will join Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussmann, a nationally recognized expert in Internet law who has established a leading practice at the intersection of privacy, technology, and national-security issues. “Todd is an exceptionally talented lawyer who will bring a wealth of experience at the very highest levels to our clients facing challenging criminal and national-security issues,” said Sussmann. In 2002, Hinnen joined Sussmann in DOJ’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, where Hinnen prosecuted several high-profile cases, including the first trial of an individual alleged to have provided material support to terrorism over the Internet and the convictions of several high-profile state and federal officials in connection with a plot to prevent voters from reaching the polls. “I started working with Todd a decade ago, and I’m thrilled that we’ll be working together again as he re-enters private practice,” Sussmann said.

Hinnen will join Perkins Coie’s growing Privacy and Security Practice, advising clients on criminal and national-security investigations, regulatory compliance, and interactions with law enforcement, national security, homeland security, and intelligence agencies. He will also counsel companies on mergers, acquisitions, and other foreign investments in domestic entities that impact national security. As Acting Assistant Attorney General with the DOJ’s National Security Division, Hinnen was responsible for reviewing all such transactions as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

“Effective national security increasingly requires close collaboration and communication between government agencies and the private sector,” said Hinnen. “I look forward to using my government experience to assist private companies interacting with the law-enforcement and national-security communities. Perkins Coie has a long, distinguished history of representing technology and defense industry leaders in such matters. This is a great fit for me.”

Hinnen drafted legislation relating to national-security and criminal-justice policy while serving as Chief Counsel to then-Senator Joseph Biden. As a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition team, he prepared Justice Elena Kagan for her confirmation hearing for the position of Solicitor General. Prior to that, Hinnen served under President George W. Bush as a director in the National Security Council’s Directorate for Combating Terrorism. Following his graduation from Harvard Law School, he clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Both Hinnen and Sussmann are available to comment on Hinnen’s transition to Perkins Coie as well as broader cybersecurity, privacy, and national-security issues.