Nema Milaninia
Chapter Advisor

Nema Milaninia is a partner on the Strategic Risk and Crisis Management team in Freshfields’ Washington, DC and San Francisco offices. He leverages his government, in-house, and extensive private practice experience to counsel companies, boards, and senior executives in complex investigations and regulatory defense involving US and international regulators and prosecutors. His matters frequently present three-dimensional risk—requiring the coordinated management of significant legal, reputational, and political exposure, often across multiple jurisdictions. Nema brings nearly two decades of experience in regulatory compliance and litigation, white-collar defense and international public law litigation. His career spans senior roles in government, leadership positions in the technology sector and private practice, giving him a distinctive perspective on complex global regulatory challenges. His work has positioned him as a recognized voice on emerging technologies and regulatory policy.

Prior to joining Freshfields, Nema was a partner at another international law firm, where he led sensitive investigations and regulatory defense matters across a wide range of industries, with a particular focus on technology companies. His work included US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, state attorney general (state AG) enforcement actions and consumer protection matters, and congressional inquiries, often involving parallel civil, criminal, and regulatory exposure. He regularly advised on crisis response, cross-border investigations, information governance strategy, executive testimony preparation, and engagement with enforcement authorities, particularly in matters involving emerging regulatory regimes, artificial intelligence, content moderation, data privacy, and novel legal risk.

Previously, Nema served as a senior advisor in the Biden-Harris administration, where he also acted in a diplomatic capacity, negotiating with senior government representatives from more than 100 countries including on issues involving cybersecurity, AI, international humanitarian and criminal law, and conflict prevention. That experience informs his understanding of how legal, political, and diplomatic considerations intersect in enforcement matters and high-profile investigations.

Nema also held a senior role at Alphabet, Inc. where he managed high-stakes investigations and litigation involving US and international regulators, including those led by the DOJ, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and European regulators. He led internal investigations, negotiated with regulators on content preservation and disclosure obligations, responded to third-party subpoenas, prepared senior executives for US congressional and international legislative hearings, and developed compliance and risk-management strategies to address complex regulatory, operational, and reputational challenges.

Earlier in his career, Nema worked as a prosecutor with both the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He handled investigations, prosecutions, and appellate litigation involving war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity—experience that continues to inform his approach to fact development, witness strategy, and advocacy in today’s most demanding investigations.