Photograph of Caroline E. Brown

Government Experience

  • Department of the Treasury—Attorney-Advisor, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; Attorney-Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, Enforcement and Intelligence (2015 – 2019)
  • The White House—Detailed from DOJ to the White House Office of Communications (2010-2011)
  • Department of Justice: National Security Division—Attorney-Advisor (2009 – 2015)

Education

  • Duke University, B.A. (1998)
  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D. (2002)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New York

Caroline E. Brown

Partner
Washington, D.C.
cbrown@crowell.com
Phone: +1 202.624.2509
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004-2595

Caroline E. Brown is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement and International Trade groups. She provides strategic advice to clients on national security matters, including anti-money laundering (AML) and economic sanctions compliance and enforcement challenges, cybersecurity, cross border data transfers, and investigations. Caroline also advises companies navigating review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Caroline brings over a decade of experience as a national security attorney at the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Treasury. Most recently, she served as an Attorney-Advisor in the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), where she developed an in-depth understanding of AML regulation and enforcement and FinCEN’s role in guarding the U.S. financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing. Before joining FinCEN, she served as an attorney in the Treasury Department’s Office of General Counsel, Enforcement and Intelligence, which provides counsel to the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. There, Caroline advised on sanctions, AML, and various other national security issues relevant to the nation’s financial system.

Prior to joining Treasury, Caroline was an Attorney-Advisor in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In that role, Caroline made recommendations to DOJ senior leadership regarding whether to mitigate, block, or allow transactions under review by CFIUS and the group of U.S. government agencies known as “Team Telecom.” She also negotiated, drafted, and reviewed mitigation agreements, monitored companies’ compliance with those agreements, and coordinated and supervised investigations of breaches of those agreements. During her tenure at DOJ, Caroline also worked on counterterrorism, counterespionage, and cybersecurity matters and gained unique insight into issues surrounding data privacy and cybersecurity.

While at DOJ, Caroline was detailed to the White House for a year, where she coordinated communications strategy focused on national security. She previously worked on the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign and served on the Obama Presidential Transition Team in 2008-2009. Her time at the White House as well as at Treasury and DOJ has given her significant experience managing rapid response and crisis communications.

Caroline’s time in government has enabled her to build strong relationships at senior levels across a number of U.S. government agencies, including DOJ, FBI, the National Intelligence Council and other components of the intelligence community, the FCC, and the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, Energy, Commerce, and the Treasury.

Caroline began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Jon McCalla in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee before joining the litigation group of a global law firm in Washington, D.C. She is a former term member on the Council on Foreign Relations, a National Security Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, an Aspen Institute Socrates Scholar, and a Young Leader of the transatlantic organization Atlantik-Brucke.   


Affiliations

Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, New York

Professional Activities and Memberships

  • Council on Foreign Relations, Term Member (former)
  • National Security Fellow, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
  • Socrates Scholar, Aspen Institute
  • Atlantik-Brucke

Speeches & Presentations


Publications


Client Alerts & Newsletters


Media Mentions


Firm News & Announcements

Oct.21.2020 The Foundation for Defense of Democracies Names Partner Caroline Brown a National Security Fellow
Feb.20.2020 Caroline Brown Joins Crowell & Moring