David Vance Lucas to address Foreign Direct Investment with U.S. Small Business

Womble Bond Dickinson Partner David Vance Lucas will provide “An Introduction to Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (FOCI)” at a Small Business Development Center Network event – to be broadcast across Alabama by the University of Alabama APEX Accelerator, and nationally by Alabama’s Small Business Development Center Network. 

The program will be one in a series, intended to provide professional assistance to U.S. small businesses interested in doing business with State, Federal, and Local governments, and will specifically focus on small businesses involvement with Foreign Direct Investment and resulting Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (“FOCI”).  FOCI can occur whenever a foreign interest has the power to affect the operations of a U.S. business in a way that may result in unauthorized access, or adversely affect, controlled technologies or restricted information.

The program will address factors U.S. small businesses must consider when engaging in Foreign Direct Investment, and how to mitigate possible FOCI.

In the first session, Lucas will cover: 

• General Overview of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Forms of FDI that trigger FOCI issues, including M&A, JVs, JDAs, and direct capital investment
• Applicable US FDI and FOCI laws, regulations, and jurisdictional agencies
• Forms of FDI and FOCI Mitigation
• Reporting and notice requirements for FDI and FOCI
• Related export control laws and regulations
• Corresponding FDI and FOCI laws, regulations, and jurisdictional agencies of US trading partners and allies.

Later sessions in the series will address specific means to comply with U.S. Foreign Direct Investment, FOCI, and Export Control laws and regulations. 

Womble Bond Dickinson is proud to sponsor of this U.S. small business program. The program will be presented live at the Huntsville, Alabama Chamber of Commerce, and hosted nationwide by the University of Huntsville APEX Small Business Development Center, the Alabama International Trade Center, Export Alabama Alliance, as well as International SBDC Interest Section. 

The first session, “An Introduction to Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (FOCI),” will take place on Sept. 21.  Click here for more information or to register.

For over three decades, David Vance Lucas has applied his legal, technological, and operational experience to craft strategic advice on intellectual property, international trade, and complex litigation matters – throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe. He accumulated much of this experience while serving as general counsel for a global technology company and a clinical laboratory software company. Lucas utilizes this experience and legal acumen to advise C-suites and boards of directors (public and private) on legal, compliance, and operational issues. He also provides thought leadership in various technology and regulatory fields, including through his role as a board member and current Executive Director of GEOHuntsville.

Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic law firm with 31 offices across the U.S. and the UK. Womble’s Global Solutions Team guides clients in a full range of international business services, including cross-border trade. Our global trade services include all relevant regulatory compliance (export controls, foreign direct investment laws, economic/trade sanctions programs, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering). WBD also counsels clients in government contracts–including those involving international business– and advise at all stages of the contracting process, from the initial competition to final stages of completion. We guide contractors in regulatory compliance as well as dispute resolution and bid protests.

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