Jonathan Gafni

Jonathan is the Head of our U.S. Foreign Investment practice, with a focus on representing domestic and international clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and other U.S. government authorities responsible for cross-border investment controls. He has significant government experience, having served in the Senior National Intelligence Service as deputy national intelligence officer for CFIUS support at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In that role, Jonathan led U.S. intelligence community support to the CFIUS process, directing the preparation of national security threat analyses of more than 500 cross-border transactions. He also served as a member of the interagency committee that wrote new CFIUS regulations following the 2007 amendment of the law governing CFIUS. Jonathan has advised private sector clients in many countries and industries as an attorney and national security consultant.

Jonathan was ranked in 2022 and 2023 by Chambers and Partners as a CFIUS expert; was named a Top Advisor from 2020 - 2024 by Foreign Investment Watch; and was recommended in 2022 and 2023 by Who's Who Legal as a leader in foreign investment review. Descriptions of selection methodologies: Chambers and Partners, Foreign Investment Watch and Who’s Who Legal. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Work highlights

Jonathan has represented parties across the globe, advising them on CFIUS and other national security issues arising from transactions in a variety of industries, including the aerospace and defence, infrastructure, information and communications technology, manufacturing, real estate, financial services and food sectors. Examples include advising:

• Daimler AG (Germany) in its spinoff of its trucks and buses businesses to Daimler Truck Holding AG.
• Schaeffler AG (Germany): advising on its acquisition of Ewellix AB, a producer of linear motion and actuation solutions
• Dialog Semiconductor Plc (UK) in its €4.9bn acquisition by Renesas Electronics Corporation.
• CJ Cheiljedang (South Korea) in its acquisition of a majority interest in Batavia Biosciences B.V.
• Jagex Ltd. (UK): advising on its its acquisition of Pipeworks Studios, a U.S.-based game development studio, from Sumo Group.
• Covestro AG (Germany) in its €1.6bn acquisition of the resins and functional materials business of Royal DSM.

Jonathan was a member of the interagency committee that wrote new CFIUS regulations following the 2007 amendment of the law governing CFIUS. Jonathan has co-authored several articles on the implications of the CFIUS process and recent CFIUS reforms. He has been cited by Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, The Deal, Foreign Investment Watch, and Law360, and has discussed CFIUS-related issues on Bloomberg TV and CCTV.

Jonathan’s professional experience before joining the U.S. government continues to help inform his understanding of clients’ strategic and financial objectives. After beginning his career as a corporate/securities attorney, Jonathan served as a senior manager of corporate development and business analysis for telecommunications equipment manufacturers and service providers, as principal of a consulting firm in which he evaluated strategic investments and as a senior analyst in an executive branch lobbying firm.

In both government and the private sector, Jonathan has supported the development and promotion of female colleagues. His pro bono work has included estate planning for LGBTQ and HIV-positive individuals and advising parents of adult children with developmental disabilities on the process for obtaining Supplemental Security Income benefits. He was selected to be on the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, which recognises the pro bono contributions made by members of the District of Columbia Bar. He also assisted a non-violent drug offender to obtain early release from prison under the Obama administration’s Clemency Initiative.

From 2020-2022, Jonathan served on the board of directors of Specially Adapted Resource Clubs (SPARC), which provides a club-based, community-oriented day support program for adults with developmental and physical disabilities. 

Jonathan holds a juris doctorate from the Hastings College of the Law, University of California, where he was editor-in-chief of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review. Jonathan earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he also holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a master’s in strategic intelligence from the National Defense Intelligence College. Jonathan is also a certified public accountant.