Guillermo Christensen is a partner and a former CIA intelligence officer and diplomat with the Department of State. He is a national security law practitioner, focusing on cybersecurity, export controls and sanctions and national security reviews of mergers, acquisitions, and investments. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Guillermo was the office managing partner in Washington, D.C., for another national law firm.
Guillermo combines his experience as a former CIA officer, a diplomat with the US Mission to the OECD in France, and an attorney to shape and inform the advice he provides to clients on enterprise risks involving cybersecurity, national security, and complex international business matters. He has overseen many serious cybersecurity incidents, including ones involving nation state threat actors and organized criminal groups employing ransomware. His cybersecurity work covers assessing risks, building effective cybersecurity programs, counseling boards and leadership teams, and managing incidents and breaches. He also guides companies in adopting better practical approaches to cybersecurity, including the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence. Guillermo's work includes training other lawyers and security experts, for example, as an instructor at the FBI Chief Information Security Officer Academy in Quantico, where he has taught on the legal issues around incident response to hundreds of Chief Information Security Officers.
In the international trade area, Guillermo draws on his extensive international and government experience to counsel clients on economic sanctions and embargoes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and export controls via the Commerce Department, including complex technology matters involving China. His work in national security-related mergers, acquisitions, and investments includes those requiring review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Guillermo has worked in particular on high-technology, defense sector and critical infrastructure CFIS matters involving China, Russia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Guillermo has also represented clients in complying with complex international investigations around the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Foreign Agents and Registration Act (FARA), and OFAC. His investigations work is reinforced by his international network, his practical experience in intelligence collection and analysis, and technical knowledge of complex systems, data collection and analytics. He has investigated matters in South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East involving companies operating in the energy, high-technology, defense, and transportation sectors. He also advises companies on the adequacy of internal controls and compliance policies and has set up compliance programs from the ground up for companies expanding into international markets, including training programs and board-level market entry advice.
Before becoming a lawyer, Guillermo served as an intelligence officer with the CIA for 15 years in international and US assignments. His experience included inter-agency roles with the Departments of Defense and State, the FBI and several national intelligence fusion centers. In 2001, Guillermo was selected by then CIA Director Tenet to serve as the National Intelligence Fellow to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, a position designated for an officer on the cusp of senior leadership within the US intelligence community. He was subsequently accepted as a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Guillermo's national security work has been recognized by the State Department (Meritorious Award for Contributions to the Balkan Peace Process) and the CIA (multiple awards).
Guillermo is an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching students a course of “AI Skills for Lawyers” and has lectured at universities in Qatar, Mexico City, Kuwait, and in the United States. He is also an instructor on legal issues around incident response at the FBI's CISO Academy in Quantico Virginia.
He is a founding member of the DC Metro Chapter of the Private Directors Association, a founder and board member of the National AI and Cybersecurity Information Sharing Association (NAIC-ISAO), and a board member of the Association of US Cyber Forces (AUSCF).
Guillermo is active with the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Latino Executive Network (LEN).
An immigrant from Argentina, Guillermo has lived and worked in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
- Recognized as a Distinguished Fellow in AI and Cybersecurity, Tortora Brayda Institute, 2025
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for International Trade and Finance Law in Washington, D.C., 2025
- Named to Lawdragon's 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers, 2024
- Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations
- Distinguish Fellow, Tortora Brayda Institute for AI and Cybersecurity
- Board Member, National AI and Cybersecurity Information Sharing Association (NAIC-ISAO)
- Co-President, DC Metro Chapter, Private Directors Association
- Board member, Association of U.S. Cyber Forces (AUSCF)
- Advisor, NetDiligence Latin America Cyber Risk Summit
- Advisor, Council for Intelligence Issues (CII)
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2016 Baker Botts Fellow
- International Association of Privacy Professionals
- Association of Former Intelligence Officers
- The OSS Society
- Central Intelligence Retirees Association (CIRA)
- Presenter, “Ransomware and Cybercrime” with James Taliento, CEO of AFTRDRK, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C., 1 October 2024
- Speaker, “Strategic Seats: Boards and Director Opportunities for ex-CIA officers,” CulperCon, Arlington, VA, 28 September 2024
- “Private Equity and New Proposed Regulations on Outbound Investments” (with Steven Hill), Strafford Webinar, 10 September 2024
- “Ransomware-as-a-Service Is Changing Extortion Efforts,” Interview with IEEE Spectrum, 28 August 2024.
- Panelist, “Potential Impact of the 2024 Elections on the DC Community,” Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 8 August 2024
- Panelist, “Integrating AI with Cybersecurity Strategy – Navigating the Next Five Years,” Black Hat USA 2024, Las Vegas, 6 August 2024
- Speaker, “Ransomware Gone Kinetic,” HOPE XV, Queens, New York, 12 July 2024
- Panelist, “Ransomware: Effective Counter Strategies vs. Spitting into the Wind,” Fireside Chat, Tortora Brayda Institute, June 2024
- Speaker, “Ransomware: To Pay or Not to Pay,” Forbes Technology Council, 4 April 2024
- Guest, "Navigating Geopolitical Risk with Guillermo Christensen, Partner at K&L Gates," Center For Strategic & International Studies, 18 March 2024
- Speaker, “Cyber and Class Actions Litigations are on the Rise,” The PLUS Cyber Symposium webinar, February 2024
- Speaker, “Emerging Risks for Private Companies…and How the Board Can Help Alleviate Them,” May 2023
- Speaker, "Cryptocurrencies and Ransomware; DEFCON29 Cryptovillage," August 2021
- Speaker - "Ransomware con Guillermo Christensen (Spanish Podcast), El Monero Podcast," August 2021
- Panel Moderator, "Liability for Companies in Cyberbreaches," Tortora Brayda Institute, June 23, 2021
- Panelist, "Cybersecurity & Law: Emerging Legal Precedents that Directors Need to Know," Private Directors Association Webinar, 10 June and 22 June 2021
- Speaker, "OFAC Ransomware Advisory," ABA Export Controls Committee Webinar, 16 March 2021
- Speaker, "Cybersecurity Risk for Boards," RANE and NASDAQ Virtual Conference, 3 December 2020
- Panelist, "Ephemeral Messaging: Balancing the Benefits and Risks," Wickr and Driven Webinar, 8 June 2020
- Panelist, Congressional Roundtable, “Understanding the Cyber Threats and Actors Exploiting the COVID-19 Crisis,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, 28 May 2020
- Panelist, Ephemeral Messaging and E-Discovery Challenges Panel, ABA 13th Annual National Institute on E-Discovery, Chicago, IL, 26 April 2019
- Panelist, “5G Technology and Security Challenges,” Conecta Mexico 2019, Mexico City, Mexico, 4 April 2019
- Keynote, Cybersecurity and FinTech, eShow Mexico 2019, Mexico City, Mexico, 3 April 2019
- “The Current Challenges Facing Mexico in Cybersecurity,” Interview with Ana Maria Salazar, El Financiero Television Show, 2 April 2019
- Keynote, “Private-Public Sector Cybersecurity Cooperation” – Qatar National Bank 5th Annual Cybersecurity Forum, Doha, November 2018
- Speaker, “Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Companies” – Overseas Security Advisory Committee, Qatar, November 2018
- Speaker, “Spycraft and the Hacker Mindset” – DRI Cybersecurity Conference, Chicago, IL, September 2018
- Speaker, “International Cooperation in Corruption Investigations, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Speaker, “Legal Privilege in Cross-Border Investigations,” Corporate Parity 3rd Annual Anti-Corruption Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 2018
- Speaker, “Spy Craft: Nation-state Cyber Threats and Managing Enterprise Risks,” Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference, March 2018
- Speaker, “Fireside Chat on Cybersecurity and Global Risks,” Control Risks RiskMap 2018 Conference, January 2018
- Panelist, “Law Firm Data Security,” Sedona Conference Working Group 11, January 2017
- Speaker, “Cybersecurity Threats to Critical Infrastructure,” St. John’s University School of Risk Management, November 2016
- Moderator, “Forecasting the Future: Social Media as an Intelligence Tool,” Council on Foreign Relations, February 2012
- “US Treasury Department Moves Closer to Implementing Outbound Investment Restrictions Through Latest Proposed Regulations,” The Global Trade Law Journal, November–December 2024
- “Deepfake-Enabled Fraud,” ABA Risk and Compliance, 21 October 2024
- "Biden Administration takes action to bolster maritime cybersecurity in the US maritime domain," Safety4Sea, 20 March 2024
- “US Government Revises Comprehensive Export Controls on Semiconductors and Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment,” The Global Trade Law Journal, March-April 2024
- “Complying With FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rules Under the Corporate Transparency Act,” Real Estate Finance Journal, Winter 2023
- "Secure Software Regulations and Self-Attestation Required for Federal Contractors,” Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report, September 2023
- Quoted, “Ukraine Has 22 Deposits of 34 Minerals Identified as Critical by the EU, Including Industrial and Construction Materials,” Hrvatski Fokus, 26 March 2025
- Quoted, “Experts cite legal gaps in Trump's minerals deal with Ukraine,” Reuters, 28 February 2025
- Quoted, “Ransomware-as-a-Service is Changing Extortion Efforts,” IEEE Spectrum, 28 August 2024
- Quoted, “Alphv ransomware gang claims it reported MeridianLink to SEC,” Tech Target and National Cyber Security, 16 November 2023
- Quoted, “Firms Taking Cautious Approach To AI-Assisted Lobbying,” Law360 Pulse, 16 October 2023
- Quoted, “Cybersecurity and Geopolitical Concerns Are Rising as Private Company Risks,” Private Company Director, 10 July 2023
- Quoted, “Sequoia Capital’s split-off of China business spurred by Sino-U.S. rift,” Nikkei Asia, 8 June 2023
- Quoted, “Ex-Fed Officials Scratching Heads After Defense Docs Leak,” Law360, 14 April 2023
- Quoted, “Building bridges, inspiring and empowering communities,” Times Kuwait, 4 February 2023
- Quoted, “An American expert in electronic security: the need to develop preventive measures to address electronic crimes,” KUNA.net.kw, 27 January 2023
- Quoted, “Tapping into the Untapped: Mercedes Vazquez with Christy Watkins and Guillermo Christensen,” Spotify.com (Tapping into the Untapped), 27 January 2023
- Quoted, “The conflict in Ukraine has affected cybercriminals, too,” TheEconomist.com, FutureNews.tech, and YahooFinance.com, 30 November 2022
- "Commentary on Ephemeral Messaging," The Sedona Conference Working Group 6 on International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure (WG6), July 2021
- "Courts Should Use Encryption Technology to Stay Safe," Bloomberg Law, 26 April 2021
- "Self-Hosted Cryptocurrency Wallets Face New Privacy Hurdles," Law360, 5 January 2021
- "Indiana High Court Says Government Can't Unlock Your Phone," Bloomberg Law, 20 July 2020
- "Cyber-Criminals Revive W-2 Scams Ahead of Extended Tax Deadline," Inside Indiana Business, 22 June 2020
- "Does Your Cyber Policy Cover Funds 'Stolen' During Email Spoofing?" Inside Indiana Business, November 6, 2019
- "UK Litigation and Guidance Highlight Cybersecurity Risk," Law360, 10 January 2019
- “How Cellphone Chips Became a National-Security Concern,” WSJ, March 2018
- Quoted, “Broadcom-Qualcomm deal in limbo after CFIUS letter," CNBC, March 2018
- “For Equifax’s Legal Team, Breach Likely to Bring Litigation Challenges, High Price Tag,” Law.com, September 2017
- “Law360 Privacy/Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board,” Law360, March 2017
- Quoted, “As Hacking Incidents Rise, Cybersecurity to Remain a Priority under Trump,” The Street, November 2016
