Christian Ford

Christian is the Chair of DLA Piper's Space Exploration and Innovation practice. He counsels space exploration and technology companies on regulatory and compliance issues surrounding rapidly evolving industries, national security matters and related risk management, and represents corporations and individuals in government investigations.

Christian brings nearly three decades of national security experience to DLA Piper, first serving as an advisor in the Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security, and later, as a legal advisor in the Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel.  More recently and immediately prior to joining DLA Piper, Christian served as a federal prosecutor and senior official in the U.S. Department of Justice. As a trial attorney in the Department of Justice's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, Christian managed complex cross-border investigations spanning numerous countries and involving large multinational corporations, as well as U.S. and non-U.S. individuals. His investigations focused on a wide range of violations, both civil and criminal, including economic sanctions and export controls, theft of trade secrets, money laundering, insider threats, and cyber intrusions. Christian also served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy (OLP), where he advised DOJ leadership on national security matters. 

Christian is a veteran and former Navy SEAL.