James Mendenhall and Grigore Alexandru Recognized Among Foreign Investment Watch’s 2024 Top Advisors

Sidley partner James Mendenhall and policy advisor Grigore Alexandru have been named to Foreign Investment Watch’s 2024 “Top Advisors” list. The annual supplement lists the top advisors who provide advice and counsel concerning foreign investment and national security in the U.S. and abroad.

Jim leads Sidley’s CFIUS practice and is included on the list for the third consecutive year. According to Foreign Investment Watch, he “has been a seemingly constant source of intelligence for the editors of Foreign Investment Watch. Previously the General Counsel of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where he handled complex trade negotiations and served as the USTR representative on CFIUS, Mendenhall has deep experience with the Committee, and has shared his insights regularly with our readers. He has written extensively on CFIUS and the interplay with other regulations and legislation (think the Commerce Department’s ICTS rules), and has been deeply involved in several high-profile cases, including the recent ICON-PTSDI clearance by CFIUS, which he explained to our readers in a ‘Ten Minutes On’ video session.”

Grigore is a former Deputy Director at the Office of Foreign Investment Review at the Department of Defense (DoD) and currently serves as a policy advisor within Sidley’s CFIUS practice. He is included on the list for the second year in row. According to Foreign Investment Watch, Grigore is “[a]n expert on the national security review process administered by CFIUS,” and he is also regarded for his “deep expertise on FOCI, ITAR, EAR, and other regulations. His breakdown for readers on the CFIUS co-lead role, and his explanation of the DoD’s recent unclassified CFIUS procedures document, remain two of the most widely-read articles we’ve ever published. He’s provided readers with top takeaways of CFIUS’s annual report, and has provided behind-the-scenes insights for Foreign Investment Watch on the inner-workings of the DoD’s foreign-investment review process.”