John B. Reynolds III

Head of our economic sanctions and national security practice. Nationally recognized CFIUS lawyer. Advises on trade, security and regulatory issues.
John leads our economic sanctions and national security practice. With over 30 years of experience in export controls, economic sanctions and foreign investment regulation, including CFIUS reviews, he advises U.S. and international clients on trade, security and regulatory issues, representing clients before the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security. John counsels on a wide range of international transactional, compliance and enforcement issues.
Chambers USA ranks John in the top tier of international trade lawyers, calling him a “highly respected” CFIUS lawyer “perfectly placed to provide high-level advice to the financial institutions that increasingly come knocking on his door.” Clients say he is “diplomatic and savvy when dealing with governments in tense situations and creative in how he analyzes problems.”
John provides pro bono advice to Doctors Without Borders, the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance and the Medicines Patent Pool, among others.
Experience highlights
- Manages international investment transactions, acquisitions, joint ventures and privatizations
- Counsels clients on inward and outward foreign investment transactions (particularly those that include a national security component), economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, export controls, anti-boycott compliance and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
- Advises on foreign acquisitions of U.S. defense and critical infrastructure companies, including negotiating facility security clearances and Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) mitigation agreements with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)
- Provides the full range of economic sanctions and anti-money laundering services, including policy advice, risk assessments, transaction counseling, compliance programs, licensing, and defense of enforcement actions before the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
Insights
Credentials
Recognition
Chambers USA and Global – International Trade: Export Controls and Economic Sanctions, Band 1
Chambers USA and Global – International Trade: CFIUS Expert
Legal 500 U.S. – International Trade, Hall of Fame
Law360 – “International Trade MVP of the Year,” 2013
Education
- Articles and Topics Editor, Yale Journal of World Public Order
- magna cum laude
Clerkships
Professional history
- Partner, Davis Polk, 2012-present
- Partner, Wiley Rein, 1996-2012
- Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton, 1994-1996
- Attorney-Adviser, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, 1982-1988
Qualifications and admissions
- District of Columbia
- State of New York