Office of 

General Counsel
WHAT WE DO

WHO WE ARE

CAREERS

OGC’S HONORS ATTORNEY PROGRAM

The General Counsel is the chief legal officer 

of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

(NGA) and the principal legal advisor to the NGA 

Director. The General Counsel is responsible for 

the sound and efficient management of the legal 

affairs of NGA and is appointed by the General 

Counsel of the Department of Defense, in 

consultation with the Director of NGA. 

The NGA Office of General Counsel, or OGC, 

is an independent office of the NGA that is headed 

by the General Counsel and assists 

the NGA in carrying out its statutory and other 

responsibilities.  OGC provides legal advice and 

policy counsel to the Director of NGA and other 

NGA officers on a variety of legal issues relating to 

the operations and management of NGA. It is the 

Nation’s only geospatial intelligence law firm.

Contents
WHAT WE DO

Throughout human history, we have yearned to discover what 

lies beyond the horizon. The drive to explore our surroundings 

and understand the Earth is deeply ingrained in our DNA. At 

NGA, our mission is to answer those fundamental questions 

today, so we can help show the way to a better tomorrow. 

Both a member of the United States Intelligence Community 

and a Defense Combat Support Agency, NGA delivers 

world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive 

advantage to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence 

professionals and first responders. Geospatial intelligence 

or “GEOINT” is the use of imagery, imagery intelligence 

and geospatial information to describe and depict features, 

activities and locations on or about Earth. NGA supports 

diverse mission sets with GEOINT, including strategic 

intelligence, warfighter support, homeland defense, safety 

of navigation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, 

indications and warning, cyber threat analysis and special 

event planning.

In this challenging global environment, the NGA OGC seeks 

highly qualified, service-oriented attorneys, paralegals 

and legal program specialists to join our team as the NGA 

accomplishes its vital mission. We thrive in a fast-paced, 

mission-focused, technologically advanced, collegial work 

environment where everyone’s views are respected and 

valued. The NGA OGC has locations in Springfield, VA; St. 

Louis, MO; Denver, CO; London, England; Stuttgart, Germany; 

and Seoul, South Korea.

AREAS OF 

PRACTICE

The NGA OGC provides timely, accurate, and practical legal 

advice and guidance to the NGA Director and NGA personnel 

to ensure that NGA accomplishes its missions consistent 

with the Constitution and all applicable laws. There are four 

Divisions within the OGC: Legal Operations and Business 

Management; Mission & International Law; Administrative 

Law & Litigation; and Acquisition Law & Intellectual Property. 

The fields of law practiced at the OGC include administrative 

law, intelligence law, national security law, international law, 

information technology law, litigation, ethics, acquisition law, 

and intellectual property law. NGA attorneys are leaders 

in the Defense and National Security legal communities 

on scientific and technological activities, equipment, and 

programs concerning intelligence, satellite reconnaissance, 

cooperative agreements and arrangements, space operations, 

artificial intelligence/machine learning, intellectual property, 

intelligence oversight, and privacy and civil liberties 

protections.
WHO WE ARE

OGC’S ATTORNEYS

The Office of General Counsel is composed of civilian 

attorneys and military judge advocates in the active duty and 

reserve component. OGC employs both general (0905 series) 

and patent (1222 series) civilian attorneys. Attorneys at NGA 

are a part of the Intelligence Community, which since 2009, 

has been ranked as one of the “Best Places to Work in the 

Federal Government,” marking over a decade of excellence 

in employee job satisfaction for the Intelligence Community. 

Attorneys and legal staff have access to an abundance of 

professional development and training opportunities and 

encourages diversity of thought and backgrounds. There is 

mobility within IC agencies, allowing lawyers to practice in 

several areas throughout their careers with detailing to other 

agencies to gain outside experience encouraged. Work-life 

balance focuses on employees’ well-being in and out of work. 

(i.e. no billable hours.) With dedication to public service, NGA 

employs attorneys who want to make a difference for their 

country and protect U.S. national security. 

OGC’S PARALEGALS

The Office of General Counsel employs paralegals with 

a variety of experience levels. Paralegals provide case 

management, legal research, case-cite verification, blue 

book citations, and general paralegal support to the Office 

of General Counsel. OGC’s paralegals support legal issues 

relating to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence 

activities, acquisitions, and both civil and national security/

criminal litigation.

OGC’S LEGAL PROGRAM 

SPECIALISTS

The Office of General Counsel is also composed of civilian 

professionals who have experience across the executive or 

corporate staff officer competencies. They perform various 

legal operations and business management activities. The 

legal program specialist is responsible for supporting OGC 

legal professionals with collecting information for their 

cases, and must have comprehensive knowledge of the legal 

industry, including law processes and federal regulations.
CAREERS

Positions in NGA’s Office of General Counsel - The NGA 

OGC seeks to recruit and train top legal talent at multiple 

levels of experience and to provide a career path for law 

students with a strong interest in national security law and 

the suite of legal portfolios resident at an Office of General 

Counsel. NGA OGC seeks to build the next generation of legal 

experts and senior executives for NGA, as well as the greater 

Intelligence Community/Department of Defense (IC/DoD) legal 

community.

The NGA personnel system generally consists of five pay 

bands, which do not align with the General Schedule (GS). 

Annual performance evaluations determine the amount of 

increase within a pay band an employee will receive. The 

annual promotion process determines those employees who 

move to a higher band. NGA OGC personnel range in pay 

bands from the pay band 3 to 5 levels. A table showing basic 

salary ranges and equivalent GS grade levels can be found at 

www.nga.mil/careers. 

Attorneys – Attorneys provide legal advice and representation 

to ensure that NGA accomplishes its mission in compliance 

with applicable laws. They ascertain facts, analyze issues, 

apply legal authorities, render opinions, and advocate Agency 

positions. Attorneys work cooperatively with others within the 

office, the Agency, the Intelligence Community, the DoD, the 

U.S. Government, academia, the private sector, and others. All 

attorneys must be active members of the bar of a U.S. state, 

territory, or commonwealth and possess a first professional 

law degree (J.D.) from an accredited law school. 

Attorneys at the pay band 3 level will have at least one year 

of professional legal experience, a second professional law 

degree such as a Master of Laws (LL.M.), or superior law 

student work (e.g. academic standing in the upper third of the 

attorney’s law school graduating class; law review or journal; 

special high-level honors; legal aid society, significant summer 

law office clerk experience; etc.). 

Attorneys at the pay band 4 level will have at least two years 

of post-law school legal experience that is commensurate 

with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Attorneys 

at the pay band 5 level will have at least three years of 

professional legal experience that is commensurate with the 

duties and responsibilities of the position and are expected to 

perform with substantial independence even when working on 

the most complex 

or difficult matters. NGA OGC thrives on challenge and 

is seeking legal professionals who want to deliver legal 

counsel to the Agency on some of the nation’s most complex 

problems. 

Paralegals have a paralegal certificate or degree from an 

American Bar Association (ABA)-approved school. NGA 

OGC has paralegal positions at the pay band 3 and 4 levels. 

Paralegals are proficient in legal research, witness interviews, 

and possess strong written and oral communication 

skills. Paralegals must have a demonstrated commitment 

to continuous learning and growth, and the ability to work 

effectively within a team as well as independently.

Legal Program Specialists perform various office tasks, 

including scheduling appointments, handling day-to-day 

correspondence, compiling legal correspondence, expediting 

legal cases, organizing legal documents, assisting with 

technology in the courtroom or administrative tribunals, and 

supporting legal or office presentations. Legal Program 

Specialists have program management experience, financial 

specialties, records management, and business continuity 

responsibilities for the legal office. NGA OGC has legal 

program specialists at the pay band 3 and 4 levels. 

As a condition of employment at NGA, persons being 

considered must meet NGA fitness for employment standards, 

such as U.S. Citizenship Required, Security Clearance (Top 

Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information), Polygraph Test 

Required, Position Subject to Drug Testing, and a Two Year 

Probationary Period. 

For information, please visit 

https://www.nga.mil/careers/Hiring_Process.html

and apply via NGA’s on-line application process.  

To apply and find instructions on how to apply, visit 

https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/NGA.
OGC’S HONORS 

ATTORNEY

PROGRAM

The NGA OGC Honors Attorney Program places attorneys who 

have just received their J.D. degrees or recent law school 

graduates completing clerkships into 3-year-term, pay band 

3-level positions to build the foundation of an outstanding

career in national security law.

During the program, each attorney will rotate through several 

OGC divisions, where they will gain intensive training and 

experience in critical skills for national security lawyers, 

including litigation, intelligence oversight/operational law, 

international law, and administrative law. Honors Attorneys 

will also gain deep exposure to NGA’s geospatial intelligence 

mission and cutting-edge legal issues associated with the 

changing intelligence environment.

At the conclusion of the 3-year-term, Honors Attorneys 

may have the opportunity to continue their career at NGA 

as permanent members of our team, or will be highly 

competitive for attorney positions at other agencies in the IC/

DoD community. Recruiting for Honors Attorneys occurs in 

the late summer/fall at the beginning of the 3L year (or near 

the commencement of the clerkship term, for judicial law 

clerks). Selections are made in November/December to allow 

selectees time to undergo the security clearance process 

and to take the bar exam before on-boarding in the fall after 

graduation or after the conclusion of their clerkship. Selectees 

must be admitted to the bar within 6 months of entry on duty 

at NGA.

NGA OGC offers a unique, exciting mission delivering 

counsel on geospatial intelligence matters intended to 

support America’s leaders – the President, policy-makers, 

first responders, and the military – so they can make sound 

decisions to protect our country. We work with some of the 

smartest, innovative minds in the nation. We are dedicated, 

diverse, and passionate thinkers and doers, united in the 

mission of keeping our nation safe. We are guided by the 

NGA Core Values of “E.A.R.T.H.” - Excellence, Accountability, 

Respect, Teamwork, and Honesty.

Approved for public release, NGA-U-2023-00606