Meet Anna Uhls: Bringing FBI and In-House Experience to High-Stakes Investigations

Fenwick recently welcomed former FBI counsel Anna Uhls to the firm’s white collar and congressional investigations practices in Washington, D.C.

Anna brings a rare combination of experience with Congress, federal law enforcement, government oversight, and the technology industry. Having previously worked as assistant counsel to the FBI, in-house at Uber, and as a journalist at the Washington Post, Anna advises on high-stakes investigations, sensitive internal matters, and crisis situations with a unique, 360-degree view of crises.

Throughout her career, she has worked on matters involving congressional oversight, national security, government investigations, and complex crisis response, helping organizations navigate moments where legal, reputational, operational, and political risks often collide.

That breadth of experience gives her a practical understanding of how congressional investigations unfold, how government agencies coordinate, and how companies can respond strategically when facing scrutiny in an increasingly public and fast-moving environment.

We sat down with Anna to talk about her path to Fenwick, why congressional investigations are becoming increasingly important for innovative companies, and what excites her most about building the practice here.

You’ve had a pretty unique career path across federal law enforcement, and the private sector. How did that shape the kind of lawyer you are today?

I don’t think I realized early on how valuable it would be to experience these issues from so many different vantage points, but looking back, it really shaped the way I approach problems. It helps me work in environments where the stakes are high, the facts are evolving quickly, and decisions have to be made in real time.

What I found especially valuable was seeing how differently the same issue can look depending on where you sit. Congress approaches problems differently than regulators do. Companies think differently than investigators do. Communications teams see risk differently than lawyers do. Having worked across those environments helps me understand what’s driving the various players in a situation and how to help clients navigate that effectively.

I also spent time in-house at a technology company, which was hugely valuable for me. You develop a much deeper appreciation for how difficult it can be to manage legal, business, operational, and reputational considerations simultaneously, especially in fast-moving industries where there often isn’t a clear playbook.

At the end of the day, that’s really how I think about this work now. Clients are not just looking for legal analysis. They need people who can help them make smart decisions under pressure and navigate situations that are often evolving publicly and very quickly.

What drew you to Fenwick at this point in your career?

Fenwick felt like a very natural fit because of both the client base and the people.

A lot of the companies Fenwick represents are operating at the center of the biggest policy and regulatory conversations happening right now: AI, cybersecurity, biotechnology, digital platforms, data governance, national security, and emerging technologies more broadly. These are companies building products and technologies that lawmakers and regulators are still trying to understand in real time, which creates interesting and nuanced challenges.

But just as important to me was the opportunity to work alongside Jonathan Lenzner and help build out the firm’s congressional investigations and crisis management capabilities together.

Jon brings an extraordinary background from the highest levels of leadership at the FBI and DOJ, and he has a really sophisticated understanding of how investigations, crises, national security issues, and government scrutiny intersect. I knew him at the FBI, and he was always the person in the room who could see the broader picture, cut through the noise, and get to the heart of what mattered most. Together, we’re building something that goes beyond a traditional investigations practice. Clients today need advisors who understand not only the legal dimensions of a matter, but also the operational, reputational, communications, and policy implications that can unfold simultaneously.

Fenwick’s platform makes that especially compelling because the firm already has such deep relationships with innovative technology and life sciences companies. Those clients are increasingly facing novel questions involving congressional oversight, government scrutiny, cybersecurity incidents, AI governance, and crisis response. Having a team that understands both the investigative landscape and the industries themselves is incredibly valuable.

You’ve seen congressional investigations from multiple sides. What do companies sometimes misunderstand about them?

I think one misconception is that congressional investigations operate like traditional litigation or enforcement matters. They really don’t.

Congressional investigations often move on accelerated timelines and in a very public environment. There can be legal issues, political considerations, media attention, investor concerns, and internal employee dynamics all happening simultaneously. Sometimes the objective isn’t even purely fact-finding. There may be broader policy goals or public messaging considerations at play.

For companies that haven’t been through it before, that can feel very unfamiliar.

One thing I try to help clients understand is that how you respond early matters a lot. The tone you set, the credibility you build, and the way you manage communications internally and externally can meaningfully shape how a matter unfolds.

It’s also important not to think about these issues in silos. A congressional inquiry may overlap with regulatory scrutiny, civil litigation, internal investigations, media narratives, or broader reputational challenges. Companies need a coordinated strategy that accounts for all of those moving pieces.

What kinds of matters are you most excited to work on at Fenwick?

I’m especially excited to work with companies that are operating in emerging or rapidly evolving spaces where there are genuinely new questions being asked. My itch for this sort of work started when I was in-house at Uber. I like operating in novel regulatory areas.

They are often the most challenging and rewarding matters because there isn’t always existing guidance or precedent. Clients are navigating issues in real time while lawmakers, regulators, and the public are still forming opinions about the technology or industry itself. We are integral to how this tech reaches people. And we get to see the impact, not in years but in minutes.

I’m also very interested in helping clients think proactively about risk management and crisis preparedness. Some of the most effective work happens long before a congressional letter or inquiry arrives. Helping companies develop escalation frameworks, response strategies, and internal processes—and even make product feature tweaks—ahead of time can make an enormous difference later.

And candidly, I enjoy the pace and complexity of this work. These matters are rarely one-dimensional. They require strategic thinking, judgment, collaboration, and the ability to stay calm in situations that can evolve very quickly.

A lot of Fenwick’s clients are technology and life sciences companies. Why are those industries seeing more congressional attention?

Technology and life sciences companies are increasingly at the center of broader societal and policy conversations.

Congress is paying close attention to AI, cybersecurity, online safety, data privacy, biotechnology, healthcare innovation, national security concerns tied to emerging technologies, and how companies manage and govern these issues internally.

There is a lot of interest in tech on both sides of the aisle. But Congress’ lawmaking capacity is facing some hurdles lately, so it’s leaning into oversight as a more feasible way to act on issues. And this scrutiny is accelerating; more subpoenas, hearings, large document requests.

For innovative companies, that can be challenging because they’re often balancing rapid growth and product development while also navigating a very dynamic policy environment.

What’s interesting is that these issues are becoming much more interconnected. A cybersecurity incident might trigger congressional attention, regulatory inquiries, consumer litigation, and public scrutiny all at once. The companies that navigate those situations most effectively are usually the ones that approach them holistically rather than as isolated legal problems.

What’s something people might not expect about you?

Before becoming a lawyer (after a brief stint as an assistant tennis pro), I was a journalist at The Washington Post. I joined at the dawn of the digital news era and spent part of my time as one of the Post's early "backpack journalists," carrying a video camera alongside my notebook and producing stories in both print and video formats.

My beat was breaking news, crime, and politics. I was the first reporter on the scene of the deadly 2009 Metro crash, covered the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, and was with the McCain campaign on election night in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president. But the most popular stories were about Washington's biggest celebrity at the time: the National Zoo's giant pandas. At one point, I spent every day for a week at the zoo covering the departure of a baby panda returning to China.

I still use many of the skills I developed as a reporter: building a narrative from complex facts, identifying what matters most in a fast-moving situation, and anticipating how a story will unfold in the media. The experience also left me with a lasting appreciation for tight deadlines, breaking news, and very strong black coffee.

As you look ahead, what are you most excited to build at Fenwick?

I’m excited to help grow a practice that reflects where the market is headed and what clients increasingly need.

Congressional investigations, oversight, and crisis-related issues are becoming more important for companies at every stage of growth, particularly in technology and life sciences. Clients are looking for advisors who understand not only the legal side of those matters, but also the broader business and reputational implications.

Fenwick already has an incredible platform and client base in those industries, and I’m excited to help build on that foundation. There’s a huge opportunity to create something really differentiated here by combining deep investigations experience with the firm’s longstanding understanding of innovation and emerging technologies.