Peter I. Belk

/My focus

I counsel clients throughout their global business lifecycles in the aerospace, defense, technology, and national security sectors.

I bring more than 30 years of public and private sector experience across legal, government, and corporate leadership roles to help clients protect and grow their businesses by mitigating operational and legal risk, enhancing resilience, and maximizing opportunities for growth and return on investment.

Drawing on highly specialized experience across the full spectrum of national security matters, I advise clients on expanding and sustaining their operations while providing representation in compliance, investigative, and enforcement matters.

Prior experience

Prior to joining the firm, Peter served as the Assistant Secretary of War for Readiness (Acting) and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Readiness. In these roles, he advised the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of War on Department-wide military readiness, including force employment recommendations; capability development for the Department's Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution process; and program design across capability areas such as artificial intelligence, information technology, autonomy, robotics, and human performance.

Before returning to the Office of the Secretary of War in 2023, Peter served as the Deputy Director of Operations at U.S. Northern Command, as well as the Deputy Director for Strategy, Policy, Plans, and Concepts at U.S. Special Operations Command.

From 2014 to 2016, he served in the White House on the National Security Council as Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Threats, where he coordinated and directed policy weapons of mass destruction terrorism and international arms control and nonproliferation frameworks. Peter also held numerous other senior government positions, including Principal Director for the Chemical and Biological Defense Program Office within the Department of War.

In addition to his public service, Peter brings significant private-sector experience. He served as a Senior Vice President within Global Technology and Operations at Bank of America, and has an extensive background in multiple global jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and the Russian Federation.

Peter served in the U.S. Army in both active and reserve capacities, including support to Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Allied Force. Throughout his military career, he held multiple leadership, operational, planning, and staff assignments.

/Representative experience

*Experience listed below includes work performed prior to joining Nixon Peabody

• Advise a technology company that provides unified spatial artificial intelligence stack for mapping and navigation across different vehicle types that is camera-based, interoperable across manufacturers, and completely GPS-denied environments. 
• Advise a weapons manufacturer focused on modern computer numerical control and additive manufacturing (3-D printing), as well as research and development services, engineering, manufacturing, and large-scale production for domestic and international partners. 
• Represent a specialized munition company in connection with its manufacturing and development efforts to support multiple of Department of War program requirements. 
• Provide cross-border compliance and regulatory support for an Israeli technology company focused on innovative threat network analysis.
• Serve as counsel to manufacturing company that leverages innovative technologies to deliver high-quality, low-cost construction at speed and scale to public sector end users.
• Serve as counsel to a nonprofit university affiliate that secures and supports Department of War applied-research partnerships to advance emerging technologies from discovery toward commercialization and operational use.
• Represent a life sciences company in connection with their human performance sensor, dashboard, and diagnostic capabilities for the Intelligence Community and Department of War. 
• Represent a venture capital group in connection with the formation of a $150 million defense-sector focused fund.
• Advise a mission-focused AI company that transforms complex defense and government data into actionable insights and recommendations to improve operational readiness and decision-making.
• Advise a Virginia Beach–based real estate company specializing in land development across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina focused on defense-related use cases.  
• Managed representation of Japanese steel manufacturers in a trade dispute with the Government of Russia concerning imports of large-diameter pipe into the Russian Federation, including direct negotiations on behalf of clients and the Government of Japan.
• Executed and managed the establishment of a de novo consumer finance bank for a Fortune 100 client in the Russian Federation, including primary drafting of Russian charter documents (OOO and ZAO) and overseeing filing processes in Moscow.
• Provided negotiation and legal support for a major global service provider for a new business venture in Italy, Germany, and France, including primary drafting of a $1.25 billion facilities service agreement.
• Advised an exhibition services company in connection with a customs dispute in the Russian Federation; successfully negotiated with the Government of Russia for the release of all client property with complete penalty mitigation.
• Assisted a Saudi Arabian confectionary company with corporate governance and investment strategy development. 
• Managed and executed the $5 million cross-border asset sale of a U.S. exhibition division to a Russian acquirer.
• Managed and executed the $10 million cross-border stock sale of a U.S. pharmaceutical company to a New Zealand acquirer; led valuation of the seller and research and analysis of the acquirer.
• Executed the $15 million cross-border stock acquisition of a Swedish direct sales telemarketing company to a U.S. acquirer; assisted with research and valuation of the target. 
• Managed and executed a $50 million secondary stock offering on behalf of the underwriter for a major U.S. defense contractor.
• Executed a $650 million bond refinancing on behalf of the underwriter for a U.S. telecommunications company.

/Looking ahead

Clients face complex and opaque legal, regulatory, and operational challenges as they navigate business transactions in a rapidly evolving national security environment – risks with significant potential impacts for doing business in the aerospace and defense sectors. These risks are further amplified by shifts in global commerce and international trade, which deepen the intersection of law, policy, economics, and national security.

Clients therefore require tailored and sophisticated legal counsel to navigate the rapidly evolving regulatory and policy frameworks governing domestic and international operations, as well as strategies for sustained business capture in the U.S. government budget cycle – in particular the Department of War Program Objective Memorandum and the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

Effective representation also demands deep familiarity with U.S. government departments and agencies responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations, as well as a practical understanding of the complex relationships between the public and private sectors.