Description

AMCHAM is honored to welcome Leslie Kiernan, General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, to speak with members about key ongoing initiatives which directly affect the investment climate in Thailand. As the third most senior official in the Commerce Department, and the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Ms. Kiernan has a birds-eye view of activities under the purview of the department.

Under the U.S. Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), her office provides technical and legal assistance to over 60 countries in order to help improve the environment for conducting business; in Thailand, the CLDP has most recently worked together with EGAT on developing capacity around forward contracts for renewable energy.

The General Counsel’s office also administers the CHIPS Act, which is designed to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry, generating significant new opportunities for critical supply chain partners like Thailand.

We invite you to join us to hear Ms. Kiernan discuss her work with EGAT, the CHIPS Act and other topics relevant to business in Thailand.  
 

About the Speaker:

Leslie B. Kiernan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as General Counsel at the Department of Commerce in 2021. She serves as Chief Legal Officer of the Department and the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and the Department’s senior leadership.  

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Kiernan served as Special Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel. During the Obama  Administration, she served in the White House as Deputy Counsel to the President from 2011 to 2014, where she advised on a wide range of compliance, risk management, policy, and oversight issues. She also served as counsel to the White House Council on Women and Girls, and to the office of the First Lady. From September through December 2014, she served in the U.S. Department of State as a senior advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she represented the U.S. in the 69th Session of the General Assembly and advised on a variety of legal and policy matters.

In addition to her government service, Ms. Kiernan has over 20 years of experience as a litigation partner at national law firms in Washington, D.C., where her practice focused on representing private entities, public agencies, and individuals in enforcement proceedings, criminal and congressional investigations, and compliance matters. Ms. Kiernan is a graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Senior Articles Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.