Elliot Hecht is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Litigation & Trial Department.

Elliot represents public and private companies and private equity funds on compliance and enforcement issues involving US laws and regulations related to US economic and trade sanctions, as well as export controls.

He also assists companies in navigating the process of securing national security clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He has represented clients in several filed cases and has advised clients on whether filings are mandatory or advisable. 

Elliot maintains an active pro bono practice, representing asylum seekers in immigration matters.

Before joining Latham, he graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. Upon graduation, he was elected as a member of the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Elliott was a summer associate in the Washington, D.C. office. He also served as a law clerk for the Senate Judiciary Committee for a semester and as a summer law clerk to Judge Reggie B. Walton in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Prior to law school, Elliot worked as a management consultant and as a research assistant for a leading international security think tank. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Dickinson College.

Elliot’s experience includes advising:

  • A big box retailer on compliance with US sanctions and export controls
  • Wren House Infrastructure Management Limited, an infrastructure investment firm and subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority in its successful effort to obtain CFIUS approval in connection with its 50% acquisition of SeaCube Container Leasing Ltd., a global purchaser and lessor of refrigerated containers
  • A portfolio company of a private equity fund in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of natural gas power plants
  • Woodside in its US$2.35 billion acquisition of OCI Clean Ammonia Holding B.V., and its lower carbon ammonia project in Beaumont, Texas
  • A private equity firm in securing CFIUS clearance for the sale of a company that designs and manufactures engineered systems and solutions for industrial and transportation applications
  • A commercial lender in securing CFIUS clearance in connection with the restructuring of an aerospace and defense portfolio company
  • A private equity firm in securing CFIUS clearance in connection with the acquisition of a global transportation and logistics provider

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia

Education

  • JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 2022
    magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
  • BA in Political Science, Dickinson College, 2015