Ron Lee advises and represents clients in national security, cybersecurity and privacy, and government contracts matters. A former General Counsel of the U.S. National Security Agency 1994 to 1998 and Associate Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice 1998-2000, he helps companies structure and protect the commercial, compliance and strategic aspects of their relationships with key national security and cybersecurity government agencies and customers. Ron also represents clients in national security-based international trade regulatory matters; compulsory process and voluntary requests for information; Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, big data and privacy, electronic surveillance and computer crime matters, risk management and corporate governance, and security clearance matters.
Ron was Chief of Staff of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1996. He served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Abner J. Mikva of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Experience
- Medical device company and information technology companies, in advising on compliance with U.S. national security and law enforcement mandatory legal processes, transparency issues, nondisclosure requirements, potential litigation challenges, draft legislation relating to electronic surveillance, and related matters.
- Diversified information technology company in vulnerability management, cybersecurity regulatory, and litigation risk management matters.
- Charitable non-governmental organizations in protecting their people, organizational processes, and proprietary data from advanced cybersecurity threats.
- Computer hardware company in the management, disclosure, and mitigation of alleged information security vulnerabilities, internal and external security policy matters, and the coordination of efforts relating to cybersecurity public policy and regulatory requirements of multiple nation-states.
- Public companies in diverse industry sectors in advising on the compulsory legal process and voluntary requests for information and assistance received from the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and state law enforcement agencies.
- Private equity fund and information technology companies in counseling on U.S. government information security regulatory requirements imposed on regulated entities.
- Venture capital fund, leading professional services government contractor, and health information technology provider in reviewing and enhancing their information security and information technology management policies.
- Software services companies in advising on the applicability of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and related statutes in connection with proposed service offerings.
- Private and government entities in guiding on use of encryption, information security, computer crime, electronic surveillance, identity theft, and workplace privacy issues.
- Software company in the defense of a lawsuit brought in a foreign jurisdiction seeking damages for alleged software vulnerabilities.
- Client in written and oral congressional testimony relating to information security, computer crime, and child online safety issues.
- Pro bono client as an invited external peer reviewer for a National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council report, "Technology, Policy Law and Ethics Regarding Cyberattack," a ground-breaking study on offensive information warfare by the National Research Council, a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology and health policy advice under a congressional charter.
- Financial institutions, a national retailer, and a defense contractor in counseling on the legal, technological, and policy measures to prepare for, respond to, and recover from breaches of data security caused by loss, theft or other compromise of digital information.
- The operator of a social network website in preparing terms of use and privacy policy for the website which is focused on a creative community.
- A software and services company in advising on congressional, regulatory, and government procurement issues related to responsibility and liability for the security and reliability of computer network systems and software.
- Various businesses in counseling on the legality under federal and state law of electronic surveillance and video surveillance measures to protect the employees, visitors, and premises of the business.
Perspectives
Recognition
"Top Lawyers" Cybersecurity (2015, 2017, 2018)
"Top Lawyers" National Security (2011, 2013, 2015)
Credentials
Education
- J.D., Yale Law School, 1985
- M.Phil., International Relations, Oxford University, 1982, Rhodes Scholar
- A.B., Princeton University, 1980, with highest honors
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- California
- New York
Government & Military Service
- Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
- General Counsel, National Security Agency
Clerkships
- United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, The Honorable Abner Mikva
- Supreme Court of the United States, The Honorable John Paul Stevens
Activities
- Member, Law360's 2024 Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board
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Elected Member, American Law Institute
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Former member, Board of Editors, American Lawyer Media's China Trade Law Report
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Invited inaugural member, Yale Law Journal's Alumni Advisory Board
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Former member, Executive Board, Yale Law School Association
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Director, Yale Law Journal Company, Inc., 2008-2015
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Director, Yale Law Journal Fund, Inc., 2012-2015
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Adviser to American Law Institute on Projects Principles for a Data Economy, Government Ethics and on Restatement of the Law Third--Information Privacy Principles
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Member of Advisory Council to Center on Information Technology Policy, a Joint Center of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
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Former member, Executive Board, Yale Law School Association
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Senior Distinguished Adviser, Yale Law Journal Company, Inc., 2015-present