Damara Chambers of Vinson & Elkins.

The lateral market for lawyers interacting with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is running hot this week.

Vinson & Elkins said Tuesday it recruited Damara Chambers, a leading CFIUS lawyer from Covington & Burling, to co-lead Vinson's national security practice. On Monday, Linklaters said it brought on Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom CFIUS lawyer Jonathan Gafni to be senior counsel and head of its U.S. Foreign Investment practice. And the moves come after Norton Rose Fulbright's international trade practice was bolstered last month by Stefan Reisinger, an experienced CFIUS practitioner, who returned to Norton Rose from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Chambers said she had an offer from another law firm before choosing Vinson and was aware of more than a dozen other firms in the market for someone at the partner or counsel level to fortify or create a CFIUS practice.

"It's a really exciting time in the CFIUS bar, if you will, because there's so many changes in the law," Chambers said. "I think that there is a real push across the market in law firms to have the right people in place to meet the needs [of clients in response to] the new law."

It's been nearly a year since President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2019. In the months since, CFIUS practitioners have witnessed the administration ramp up its staffing, enforcement and monitoring efforts. Chambers said she expects more regulations relating to CFIUS involving big data and critical infrastructure to be unveiled soon and to be implemented potentially next year.

In response to all of the existing and likely CFIUS work, and the outreach and education necessary to counsel clients across many industries, Big Law is growing its national security groups' capabilities to better service client needs.

"A veritable 'arms race' towards stricter foreign investment controls is in full swing in many jurisdictions, and it is having a real impact on timing and strategy for M&A deals," said Christian Ahlborn, Linklaters global practice head for competition and antitrust, in a statement announcing Gafni's hire.

Vinson managing partner Scott Wulfe said in a statement that the firm's mergers and acquisitions and private equity clients have been greatly affected by the growing complexity of CFIUS reviews and matters involving mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence.

The lawyers benefiting most from the Trump administration's agenda are veterans with around 15 years' experience in the CFIUS realm and lawyers having extensive experience within the highest levels of government. Before Linklaters and Skadden, Gafni spent close to a decade in government, including as deputy national intelligence officer for CFIUS support at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Reisinger has worked for the U.S. Department of State and several other Big Law firms—such as Kelley Drye & Warren and Hunton & Williams—before moving to Norton Rose, and Chambers spent more than a decade at Covington.

A change in presidential administrations or Congress after next year's election could spawn a change in the foreign affairs agenda directly affecting CFIUS. In the meantime, the legal industry demand isn't likely to fade.