NSA general counsel to discuss FISA Section 702 reauthorization at ABA luncheon

April Doss, general counsel of the National Security Agency, will speak at an American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 17, at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.

Doss will discuss the pending reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2008, which is set to expire at the end of this year. It is a key provision that permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the United States, with the compelled assistance of electronic communication service providers, to acquire foreign intelligence information.

At the event, Doss will be joined by Glenn Gerstell, former NSA general counsel and a senior adviser in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The discussion will be moderated by Harvey Rishikof, director of cybersecurity at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security at the University of Maryland and a visiting professor of law at Temple University School of Law.

Doss was named general counsel for the National Security Agency in May 2022. She joined the agency in 2003 as a senior policy officer working on information sharing issues in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, managed operational programs and technology innovation efforts, was posted overseas as a foreign liaison officer and served as the associate general counsel for intelligence law before leaving the agency in 2013.

From 2016-22, Doss held several positions in the public and private sector. She worked in private law practice as a partner at a major U.S. law firm, where she chaired the Cybersecurity and Privacy practice group. She served as senior minority counsel for the Russia investigation on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Most recently before returning to NSA, Doss was the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown University.

The ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security has developed a Section 702/FISA Resource Page, which follows developments useful to policymakers, the press and the public. Visit www.FISA702Resources.com to read selected articles and legal materials and learn about upcoming events.