Lauren Mandell is a partner in WilmerHale’s International Trade, Investment and Market Access Practice. He helps companies and governments navigate a broad range of issues related to international trade and investment, including digital trade, foreign investment protection, tariffs and supply chain management, international arbitration, and State-to-State dispute settlement. He is particularly adept at handling issues involving China, such as the new US outbound investment security program and other measures restricting US economic engagement with China. 

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Mr. Mandell served in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) under the Obama and Trump administrations, where he negotiated the investment chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and played a key role in the revival of Section 301 as a trade enforcement tool.

Practice

At WilmerHale, Mr. Mandell has helped clients mitigate risks and maximize opportunities related to international trade and investment in a range of sectors, including accounting, automotive, aviation, banking, electronic payments, insurance, life sciences, private equity, retail, oil and gas, and technology.

A hallmark of Mr. Mandell’s practice is advising clients on the protection of foreign investment. This includes structuring investments to obtain optimal investment treaty protection, advocating for investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) as an effective means to resolve investment disputes, and promoting balanced reforms to ISDS in multilateral discussions at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Mr. Mandell also helps investors and States resolve investment disputes, using ISDS when necessary. Further, he advises clients regarding US and international regulatory regimes affecting foreign investment, including US rules regulating both inbound and outbound investment.

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Mr. Mandell held senior legal and policy roles at USTR for six years. During his USTR tenure, he represented the United States in trade and investment negotiations and dispute settlement proceedings and helped craft US legal and policy positions in numerous areas, including investment, services, financial services, digital trade, state-owned enterprises, competition, and enforcement.

From 2016-2019, Mr. Mandell was the Deputy Assistant USTR for Investment, the agency’s lead official on investment policy. In that role, he served as the US lead negotiator of the investment chapter of the USMCA; the US lead negotiator of the amended investment chapter of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement; the US lead negotiator in investment dialogues with Australia, Ecuador, Kenya, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom; and a US delegate in global forums such as UNCITRAL, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the OECD. Mr. Mandell also led aspects of the Section 301 investigation of China’s trade practices and the ensuing bilateral negotiations that culminated in the US-China Phase One Trade Agreement. 

From 2013-2016, Mr. Mandell served as an attorney-advisor in USTR’s Office of the General Counsel, including two years as Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation, and Administrative Law. In that role, Mr. Mandell served as the US lead counsel in the US-China bilateral investment treaty negotiations; the US lead counsel in the Trans-Pacific Partnership investment chapter negotiations; and the US lead counsel in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership investment chapter negotiations. Mr. Mandell also served as the US lead counsel in a World Trade Organization case against China and participated in numerous ISDS cases in which the United States was a respondent or a participating third party. 

Prior to joining the US government, Mr. Mandell practiced law for six years at firms in Washington, New York and Hong Kong. Mr. Mandell also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in southwestern China.

Professional Activities 

Mr. Mandell actively engages in professional activities focused on the development of international trade and investment law. For example, Mr. Mandell is a member of the US State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law and a longtime participant in UNCITRAL Working Group III.  

Mr. Mandell also teaches international trade and investment law. He is currently a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches a seminar on US trade law and policy. In addition, he regularly serves on the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center’s Global Trade Academy.