Ian C. Richardson is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul, Weiss and a member of the National Security Practice Group, the Investigations Practice Group, the Cybersecurity & Data Protection Practice Group and the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Practice Group. An experienced trial and appellate advocate, Ian served for over a decade as a federal prosecutor in New York and Washington, DC, where he was recognized for leading and successfully resolving complex investigations of corporate crime implicating U.S. national security interests.
As Chief Counsel for National Security Corporate Enforcement, and later Chief Counsel of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Richardson supervised and led investigations and prosecutions involving export controls, sanctions, terror financing, espionage and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). At the National Security Division, Richardson also contributed to the development and implementation of key DOJ policies to incentivize corporate self-disclosure and enhance compliance with national security laws and regulations in the business community.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2026 | Litigation, National Security |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | White Collar, Investigations, National Security, Litigation |
At DOJ’s National Security Division, Richardson directed and supervised National Security Division prosecutors on significant national security corporate enforcement matters, including in:
- Obtaining a guilty plea from a semiconductor design technology company for export control violations arising out of unlicensed exports of semiconductor design technology to a restricted PRC military university;
- Obtaining a guilty plea from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange for Iran sanctions violations; and
- Entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with a major defense contractor for violations of the FCPA and ITAR arising out of payments to foreign military officers.
Richardson played a central role in shaping the DOJ National Security Division’s voluntary self-disclosure program by authoring revisions to key enforcement policies, overseeing a significant increase in disclosures, and guiding the National Security Division’s first discretionary declinations of prosecution for self-disclosing businesses. Richardson also oversaw DOJ’s decision to issue the first declination under the DOJ’s new Mergers and Acquisitions Policy to a private equity firm that self-disclosed misconduct it discovered after acquiring a portfolio company.
Richardson is an accomplished national security law practitioner whose contributions to national security while in government service have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security (2023), the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in International Operations (2023), and the ODNI National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director’s Award for Excellence (2024). Richardson speaks regularly to business, practitioner, academic, and law enforcement audiences in the United States and overseas on topics relating to government investigations, national security compliance and enforcement, and cybercrime. Most recently, he was named one of the 2026 Lawdragon “500 Leading Litigators in America” list.