Bradley Welcomes Former Pentagon General Counsel and National Security Council Legal Advisor Paul Ney
Bradley is pleased to announce that Paul Ney has joined its Government Enforcement & Investigations and Defense & National Security teams as a partner in the firm’s Nashville and Washington, D.C. offices. Before joining Bradley, Mr. Ney notably served as the legal advisor to the National Security Council (NSC), the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense and as acting general counsel for the U.S. Department of the Navy.
As Pentagon general counsel, Mr. Ney was the top legal advisor to the secretary of defense and oversaw more than 12,000 military and civilian lawyers. Mr. Ney has extensive national security, government enforcement, government contracting, defense, and international trade experience. Most recently, at the National Security Council he led the Office of Legal Affairs and served as the principal legal advisor for national security matters to the president and his national security advisor.
“Paul’s experience in the White House at the NSC and in the Department of Defense gives him an unsurpassed understanding of how national security decisions are made at the highest levels,” said Jonathan “Jack” Harrington, partner and chair of Bradley’s Defense & National Security team. “That perspective is a powerful asset for our defense and national security, government contracting, and defense technology clients — particularly as U.S. Space Command relocates to Alabama, where Bradley was founded more than 155 years ago.”
Mr. Ney’s substantial government experience also includes serving as chief deputy attorney general for the State of Tennessee and as director of the Nashville Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development. In the private sector, Mr. Ney served as chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Momentus Space, a publicly traded satellite and space infrastructure company serving government and commercial customers. He practiced law for more than 25 years in commercial litigation, administrative and regulatory law and as a registered patent attorney. He earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University and received his A.B. from Cornell University.
“Paul is a highly regarded practitioner with deep ties to the Nashville community, as well as an impressive tenure in the federal government,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “We are thrilled that he returned to private practice in Nashville and chose Bradley because of our expansive platform from Texas to D.C., as well as our ability to serve clients in the technology, defense, and space industries.”
Bradley’s Defense & National Security team includes industry professionals with experience across the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Security Council (NSC), and the intelligence community. The team provides legal counsel to companies navigating the complex terrain of national security risks related to cross-border investment, sanctions and export controls, cybersecurity, government contracting, and national security-related investigations and enforcement matters.
Bradley’s Government Enforcement & Investigations Practice Group represents companies and individuals in a range of government and internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, white-collar criminal defense matters, compliance issues, civil litigation, and enforcement actions. The team includes seasoned defense attorneys with decades of government and industry experience, as well as former federal prosecutors and accomplished civil litigators who handle investigations and enforcement matters throughout the United States. The firm’s Eye on Enforcement blog focuses on the latest trends in government investigations and enforcement activity and provides timely, practical insight into legal and compliance developments.
