International Financial Law Review (IFLR) featured David Fagan, Jonathan Wakely, and Devin DeBacker in an interview following Covington’s recognition at the 2026 IFLR Americas Awards, where the firm was named CFIUS Team of the Year for the fifth consecutive year and received Deal of the Year: M&A for Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U. S. Steel, while David Fagan was short-listed for the North America Dealmakers Hall of Fame.
In the award profile, David, Jonathan, and Devin discussed the firm’s work on sophisticated and high-stakes CFIUS and national security matters, including its representation of U. S. Steel in the Nippon Steel transaction and ByteDance/TikTok. The partners also discussed how the expanding U.S. national security regulatory landscape is affecting clients, as considerations involving critical technology, supply chains, data security, industrial policy, and economic security increasingly become C-suite and board-level issues.
Looking ahead, the partners highlighted implementation of the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act (COINS Act) as a significant development for businesses and investors. They discussed Treasury’s proposed expansion of outbound investment restrictions, including potential implications for the biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor sectors and for investments, transactions, and business operations in China, as well as steps companies and investors should be taking to prepare.
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