Sunita P. joined the ODNI Office of the General Counsel in 2015. Since she has been at ODNI, she has provided legal support to several ODNI components including the National Counterterrorism Center, the IC Chief Information Officer, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and, most recently, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
Sunita discussed her background and how she provides legal guidance as a lawyer in the IC in the Q & A below.
Our Mission:
Trusted legal Counsel to the ODNI; Principled Advocate and Partner to the Intelligence Community; Enabling Mission while Preserving the Public Trust.
What We Do:
OGC attorneys provide authoritative legal advice on complex and novel legal issues affecting the responsibilities of the DNI and ODNI. OGC attorneys work closely with OGC counterparts in other IC elements and federal departments and agencies more broadly, playing a central role in furthering the DNI’s intelligence integration mission and addressing cutting edge challenges posed by rapidly changing technology, new legislation, and litigation impacting the IC.
Our “in-house law firm” provides a wide array of legal services, requiring that we employ experts not only in constitutional and national security law, but also areas of law including acquisitions and procurement, employment, ethics, intellectual property, international law, legislation, and litigation. While our day-to-day assignments adjust to meet client needs, our values of excellence, integrity, and professionalism remain constant throughout all we do. As do our partner IC legal offices, we seek people with diverse skill sets who want to make a difference for their country.
The General Counsel is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The OGC is supported by a career staff that includes a Principal Deputy General Counsel, Deputy General Counsels, and attorneys and legal professionals. OGC’s role is to provide expert legal counsel to ODNI leadership and the agency’s personnel, including those assigned to its five intelligence centers, ensuring that all personnel assigned to the ODNI act in accordance with applicable law, regulations, and directives.
For all open positions visit ODNI's Career Opportunities page or IntelligenceCareers.gov.
General Employment Requirements
- Candidates must be eligible to receive and maintain a Top Secret security clearance and Sensitive Compartmented Information access based on a comprehensive background investigation and CI polygraph.
- Attorneys must be admitted to and maintain active membership in the Bar of a state, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- All ODNI new hires must successfully complete a two-year probationary period.
Training & Detail Opportunities
OGC invests significantly in our staff’s continuing professional development. We harness training opportunities inside the government and in the private sector to equip our personnel with continuing legal education, relevant technical and operational expertise, and leadership development skills to continue to meet our mission of excellence.
Integration across departments and agencies is a key component to OGC’s success. OGC is an active participant in the IC Civilian Joint Duty Program, and our attorneys are encouraged to complete a joint duty assignment, typically of one or two years’ duration, with another IC element or federal department or agency. While on joint duty, attorneys remain OGC employees whose pay and benefits continue to be administered by ODNI. OGC also routinely hosts lawyers for other IC elements who wish to complete joint duty program rotations with us.