Laura advises clients, including funds and multinational corporations, on investment screening within a broader national security context and provides strategic guidance and planning.

She also provides counsel on matters, including international investment risks, multijurisdictional reviews of transactions, cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and emerging policy issues involving outbound investments by United States entities.

Laura joined Akin after serving 15 years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she was most recently the first Director of Policy and International Relations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). During her tenure at CFIUS, Laura was the chief drafter of and led the process for scoping, drafting and finalizing the full set of regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), the first expansion of CFIUS authority in three decades.

Laura has played a leading role in the development of other investment regimes both within and outside the U.S. She was actively involved in the development of proposals for a widely anticipated regulatory program for outbound U.S. investment in critical industry sectors.

Internationally, Laura spearheaded U.S. government engagement with dozens of foreign governments, including with countries in Europe, Asia, the Western Hemisphere and the Middle East. She also played a prominent role in the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council Investment Security Working Group, chaired a G-7 Investment Security Experts Group and was a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Steering Group on Investment Security.

Laura served as a Senior Advisor to the General Counsel during the Bush administration, as well as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development during the Obama administration. Laura served as the point person between the Biden-Harris administration transition team and the Offices of International Affairs (including CFIUS) and Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In addition to her service at the Treasury, Laura performed the duties of the Executive Director for the U.S. on the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank and subsequently served as a senior counselor to the Senate-confirmed U.S. Executive Director.

Prior to entering public service, Laura was a lawyer in the Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium offices of another leading international firm with a practice focused on cross-border M&A.