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Jose W. Fernandez

Jose
Fernandez

Partner

CONTACT INFO

jfernandez@gibsondunn.com

TEL:+1 212.351.2376

FAX:+1 212.351.6276

New York

200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166-0193 USA

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PRACTICE

Latin America Global Finance International Trade Mergers and Acquisitions National Security Power and Renewables Private Equity Public Policy

BIOGRAPHY

Jose W. Fernandez is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Latin America Practice Group. His practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions and finance in emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Mr. Fernandez has substantial experience in the telecommunications, energy, water, banking and consumer industries. His clients have included major multinational companies, financial institutions and private equity groups, as well as nearly a dozen foreign governments looking to attract foreign investors. He has also successfully advised U.S. and European companies involved in disputes in developing countries.

Mr. Fernandez was named one of the “World’s Leading Lawyers” by Chambers Global for his M&A and corporate work, and one of the “World’s Leading Privatization Lawyers” by Euromoney Publications. He has been recognized as a leading attorney in the Latin America market by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 Latin America and The Best Lawyers in Brazil. He was featured by Hispanic Business Magazine in its “100 Influentials List” for several years. Mr. Fernandez is ranked a “Highly Regarded” practitioner by the International Financial Law Review in its 2019 attorney rankings.

Nominated by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Fernandez served as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure, he led the Bureau that is responsible for overseeing work on international trade and investment policy; international finance, development and debt policy; economic sanctions and combating terrorist financing; international energy security policy; international telecommunications and transportation policies; and support for U.S. businesses and the private sector overseas. His work focused on development as a business opportunity for U.S. companies and a strategic imperative for the United States, mostly in the areas of infrastructure, trade and investment, entrepreneurship, and agriculture. He spearheaded the State Department’s “Economic Statecraft” initiative to promote foreign investment into the United States and support U.S. companies overseas, co-led the interagency team that prepared the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty used by the United States today, worked with American businesses to promote responsible business conduct in Myanmar, Bangladesh and the diamond industry through the Kimberly Process, and led the U.S. government’s economic dialogues with Turkey, the UAE, Brazil and several other nations. He was the State Department’s principal representative in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and was also a key figure in devising and implementing U.S. sanctions policy around the world. Mr. Fernandez served as the Director of the Transition Policy Committees for Governor-Elect Phil Murphy of New Jersey following the Governor’s election in November 2017.

Mr. Fernandez has served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College and on the Board of Directors of Accion International and the Council of the Americas. He has been chair both of the American Bar Association’s Inter-American Law Committee and the Committee on Inter-American Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and Co-Chair of the Cross Border M&A and Joint Venture Committee of the New York State Bar Association. He also headed the Latin American and Caribbean division of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative. He has served on the boards of NPR-station WBGO-FM, Ballet Hispanico of New York and the Middle East Institute. He was a founder of TeatroStageFest, a 2-week Latino theatre festival in New York City, and was appointed a Commissioner of New York’s Latin Media and Entertainment Commission. Mr. Fernandez is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and serves on the Board of Directors of Iberdrola S.A.

Mr. Fernandez’s articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, The Miami Herald, The Huffington Post, Americas Quarterly and many other legal and policy publications. He has been featured by various TV, radio and print media organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

Mr. Fernandez graduated magna cum laude with high honors from Dartmouth College earning a bachelor’s degree in history, and also received an honorary degree from the college. He earned a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law, where he received the Charles Evans Hughes Prize and a Parker School Certificate of International Law with Honors. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and proficient in French.

EDUCATION

Columbia University - 1980 Juris Doctor

Dartmouth College - 1977 Bachelor of Arts

ADMISSIONS

New Jersey Bar

New York Bar

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Firm News - November 19, 2020 | Best Lawyers in Brazil 2021 Recognizes Three Gibson Dunn Attorneys
Client Alert - November 18, 2020 | Trump Administration Restricts Investments in Companies Linked to Chinese Military
Client Alert - April 2, 2020 | COVID-19 & International Trade – Nation-State Responses to a Global Pandemic
Client Alert - February 20, 2020 | CFIUS Reform: Top Ten Takeaways from the Final FIRRMA Rules
Firm News - December 9, 2019 | Best Lawyers Recognizes Three Gibson Dunn Attorneys in Brazil
Client Alert - September 20, 2019 | Proposed CFIUS Regulations: The U.S. Remains Open for Business … but Read the Fine Print
Client Alert - August 8, 2019 | New U.S. Sanctions Targeting Venezuelan Government
Client Alert - April 24, 2019 | CFIUS Developments: Notable Cases and Key Trends
Article - March 13, 2019 | CFIUS Reform: Implications for Real Estate Transactions
Publications - December 20, 2018 | Webcast: CFIUS Reform: Implications for Private Equity Investments
Publications - October 19, 2018 | Webcast: CFIUS Reform and the Implications for Real Estate Transactions
Client Alert - August 14, 2018 | CFIUS Reform: Our Analysis
Client Alert - May 30, 2018 | Update on Proposed Changes to the CFIUS Review Process
Publications - March 15, 2018 | Webcast: U.S. Economic and Trade Sanctions Against Venezuela – the Outlook for 2018
Client Alert - November 10, 2017 | Proposed Changes to the CFIUS Review Process
Publications - February 8, 2017 | Webcast: Tectonic Shifts in the Landscape of Economic Sanctions: Will the Pace of Change in 2016 Continue?
Client Alert - May 20, 2016 | United States Eases Myanmar (Burma) Sanctions in the Wake of Historic Democratic Reform
Publications - March 24, 2016 | Webcast: Global Sanctions Update
Client Alert - January 18, 2016 | “Implementation Day” Arrives: Substantial Easing of Iran Sanctions alongside Continued Limitations and Risks
Client Alert - December 10, 2015 | OFAC Issues General License Further Relaxing Burmese Sanctions
Article - June 30, 2015 | A Dealmaker’s Guide to National Security Implications of Foreign Investment in U.S. Government Contractors
Article - April 2, 2015 | Cybersecurity Sanctions: A Powerful New Tool
Publications - March 17, 2015 | Webcast: Global Sanctions Update
Client Alert - February 25, 2015 | U.S. Department of State Releases List of Cuban Goods and Services Now Eligible for Importation
Client Alert - February 19, 2015 | Havana Calling: Easing the Embargo Will Open the Cuban Telecom Sector
Publications - February 11, 2015 | Webcast: Foreign Investments in Emerging Markets
Client Alert - January 20, 2015 | U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Commerce Issue Rules Implementing Changes in U.S. Policy on Cuba
Client Alert - January 15, 2015 | 2014 Year-End Sanctions Update
Client Alert - December 22, 2014 | President Obama Signs the Ukraine Freedom Support Act into Law, Authorizing New Sanctions on Russian Entities and Foreign Companies Conducting Business in Russia
Client Alert - December 18, 2014 | U.S. Government Takes First Step Toward Normalizing Relations with Cuba; Restores Diplomatic Ties and Eases Trade Sanctions
Client Alert - October 6, 2014 | Protecting Your Investments in Emerging Markets
Client Alert - September 22, 2014 | U.S. Treasury Department Imposes Additional Sanctions on Russian Entities in Financial Services and Energy Sectors in Response to the Evolving Ukraine Crisis; Expands List of Blocked Persons
Publications - July 30, 2014 | Webcast – 2014 Mid-Year Sanctions Update
Client Alert - July 21, 2014 | U.S. Treasury Department Sanctions Russian Entities in Financial Services and Energy Sectors in Response to Evolving Ukraine Crisis; Expands List of Blocked Persons
Client Alert - July 15, 2014 | Lessons from the Trenches
Client Alert - May 1, 2014 | Speaking a Common Language with Latin America: Economics
Client Alert - March 3, 2014 | National Security Implications of Foreign Investment in U.S. Government Contractors Edition/II
Client Alert - January 9, 2014 | Mexican Energy Reform: New Investment Opportunities Ahead
Client Alert - November 26, 2013 | Bridge to Somewhere: Helping U.S. Companies Tap the Global Infrastructure Market
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