# General Counsel of the Navy

The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the U.S. Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the Secretary of the Navy. The Office of the General Counsel of the Navy provides legal advice to the Secretary, the Under Secretary of the Navy and the various Assistant Secretaries of the Navy and their staffs. The General Counsel of the Navy is the third highest-ranking civilian office in the Department of the Navy, behind the Secretary and Under Secretary of the Navy.
The General Counsel maintains a close working relationship with the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, the senior uniformed lawyer in the Department of the Navy who performs statutory duties under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The General Counsel manages nearly 650 attorneys worldwide, helps to oversee the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and advises senior Navy and Marine Corps officials on litigation, acquisition, contractual, fiscal, environmental, property, personnel, legislative, ethics, and intelligence law issues.

## General Counsels of the Navy, 1941—present

The first General Counsel of the Navy was appointed in 1941. From 1862 to 1941, essentially the same function was provided by the Solicitor General of the Navy.
| Name | Assumed office | Left office | President appointed by | Secretary served under |
| H. Struve Hensel | July 10, 1941 | January 30, 1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Frank Knox James Forrestal |
| W. John Kenney | February 5, 1945 | April 2, 1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | James Forrestal |
| Patrick H. Hodgson | April 3, 1945 | October 31, 1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | James Forrestal |
| J. Henry Neale | November 1, 1945 | July 26, 1946 | Harry S. Truman | James Forrestal |
| William Wemple | July 27, 1946 | August 23, 1946 | Harry S. Truman | James Forrestal |
| James T. Hill, Jr. | August 24, 1946 | May 15, 1947 | Harry S. Truman | James Forrestal |
| Hudson B. Cox | May 16, 1947 | April 29, 1949 | Harry S. Truman | James Forrestal John L. Sullivan |
| Harold B. Gross | April 30, 1949 | August 30, 1953 | Harry S. Truman | Francis P. Matthews Dan A. Kimball Robert B. Anderson |
| F. Trowbridge vom Baur | December 15, 1953 | April 30, 1960 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Robert B. Anderson Charles Thomas Thomas S. Gates, Jr. William B. Franke |
| Meritt H. Steger | May 2, 1960 | May 31, 1971 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | William B. Franke John Connally Fred Korth Paul Nitze Paul Robert Ignatius John Chafee |
| Hart T. Mankin | June 7, 1971 | July 21, 1973 | Richard Nixon | John Chafee John Warner |
| E. Grey Lewis | August 1, 1973 | April 21, 1977 | Richard Nixon | John Warner J. William Middendorf |
| Togo D. West, Jr. | April 22, 1977 | January 13, 1979 | Jimmy Carter | W. Graham Claytor, Jr. |
| Coleman Hicks | May 25, 1979 | January 13, 1981 | Jimmy Carter | Edward Hidalgo |
| Hugh O'Neill (Acting) | June 1981 | August 24, 1981 | Ronald Reagan | John Lehman |
| Walter T. Skallerup, Jr. | August 24, 1981 | July 29, 1987 | Ronald Reagan | John Lehman |
| Harvey J. Wilcox (Deputy GC) | July 29, 1987 | November 21, 1988 | Ronald Reagan | Jim Webb William L. Ball |
| Lawrence L. Lamade | November 22, 1988 | November 21, 1989 | Ronald Reagan | William L. Ball Henry L. Garrett III |
| Craig S. King | November 22, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush | Henry L. Garrett III Sean O'Keefe |
| Steven S. Honigman | June 1, 1993 | March 15, 1998 | Bill Clinton | John Howard Dalton |
| Eugene Angrist (Deputy GC) | March 15, 1998 | September 28, 1998 | Bill Clinton | John Howard Dalton |
| Stephen W. Preston | September 28, 1998 | November 17, 2000 | Bill Clinton | Richard Danzig |
| John E. Sparks (acting) | November 17, 2000 | December 12, 2000 | Bill Clinton | Richard Danzig |
| William Molzahn (Deputy GC) | December 12, 2000 | July 25, 2001 | Bill Clinton George W. Bush | Richard Danzig |
| Alberto J. Mora | July 25, 2001 | January 1, 2006 | George W. Bush | Gordon R. England |
| Paul C. Ney, Jr. (acting) | January 2, 2006 | September 25, 2006 | George W. Bush | Donald C. Winter |
| Frank Jimenez | September 25, 2006 | April 30, 2009 | George W. Bush | Donald C. Winter |
| Anne M. Brennan (acting) | April 30, 2009 | March 11, 2010 | Barack Obama | Ray Mabus |
| Paul L. Oostburg Sanz | March 12, 2010 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama | Ray Mabus |
| Anne M. Brennan (acting) | January 20, 2017 | March 6, 2019 | Donald J Trump | Richard V. Spencer |
| Garrett L. Ressing (acting) | March 7, 2019 | January 5, 2020 | Donald J Trump | Richard V. Spencer Thomas B. Modly (acting) |
| Robert Sander | January 6, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | Donald J Trump | Thomas B. Modly (acting) |
| Garrett L. Ressing (acting) | January 20, 2021 | February 16, 2022 | Joe Biden | Thomas Harker (acting) Carlos Del Toro |
| Sean Coffey | February 16, 2022 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden | Carlos Del Toro |
| Catherine L. Kessmeier (acting) | January 20, 2025 | Present | Donald Trump | Terence G. Emmert (acting) |