Don L. Vieira

Mr. Vieira regularly advises boards, C-Suite, general counsel and other senior company officials on their most significant matters, including with regard to corporate crises, foreign investments, geo-strategic issues, congressional engagement, government and regulatory reviews, and policy considerations. He is a leading white collar practitioner who represents companies facing high-stakes litigation and federal enforcement investigations. Mr. Vieira is also recognized as one of the premier technology and AI policy and regulatory lawyers and works with some of the world’s leading companies on a range of issues in these rapidly shifting areas, as well as in tech-adjacent industries such as defense, financial services and life sciences.

Mr. Vieira rejoined Skadden after serving as a partner, chief legal officer (CLO) and chief policy officer at Sequoia Capital, a preeminent global venture capital firm. At Sequoia, he founded the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and global policy function, and as CLO he managed a variety of high-profile matters and investigations at the intersection of finance, technology, law and public policy. He also represented Sequoia on the board of the National Venture Capital Association, the VC industry’s leading trade association. Previously, Mr. Vieira served on the boards of Genuity Science and Hakluyt & Co.

Prior to joining Sequoia, Mr. Vieira was a partner at Skadden, advising numerous technology companies, venture capital firms, private equity firms, defense contractors and other clients on matters related to congressional investigations, investment structures, regulatory enforcement, CFIUS, export controls, sanctions and cybersecurity.

Mr. Vieira also has extensive government experience, having previously served in senior positions in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, including chief of staff of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD) and counselor to the assistant attorney general for national security. At the DOJ, he supervised the department’s work on hundreds of CFIUS reviews and advised on issues related to congressional oversight, cybersecurity, export controls, sanctions, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, telecommunications, information technology and electronic surveillance. He also testified before Congress as a DOJ representative and prepared senior officials, including the attorney general and others, for congressional testimony. He also prosecuted espionage cases and export and economic sanctions enforcement matters as a federal prosecutor in the DOJ’s Counterespionage Section.

In addition, Mr. Vieira served as deputy chief counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and staff director of its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, leading several classified committee investigations.

Throughout his career, Mr. Vieira has received several distinguished awards and honors. While at Sequoia, he was repeatedly honored by Washingtonian as one of Washington, D.C.’s Tech Titans and Most Influential People. While in government service, he received accolades from the DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Department of State and Congress. These honors included the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s Award for Community Excellence and the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service.

In private practice, Mr. Vieira has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Washingtonian and Lawdragon as a leading practitioner in a variety of areas including, most recently, as one of Lawdragon’s 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors.