B.A., University of Virginia; J.D., George Washington
Areas of Expertise:
Mary B. DeRosa served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President, and as National Security Council Legal Adviser in the Obama Administration. After leaving the White House, she served as Alternate Representative of the United States to the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly, an Ambassador-level position with the US Mission to the United Nations. Prior to joining the Obama Administration in 2009, Ms. DeRosa was Chief Counsel for National Security for the Senate Judiciary Committee, working for the Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy. She has also been a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, served on the staff of the Clinton Administration National Security Council as Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Adviser, and was Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense. Before joining the government, Ms. DeRosa was in private practice at Arnold & Porter. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Cardamone, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ms. DeRosa is currently the Chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board, a Judge on the Data Protection Review Court, a member of ABA’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, and a member of the Boards for the Leadership Council for Women in National Security and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. She was previously a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, Chair of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Legal Advisory Board, and a member of the National Security Agency’s Legal Advisory Board.
U.S. Supreme Court Briefs
Book Chapters & Collected Works
"‘I’d Never Been Involved in Anything as Secret as This’," coverage in Politico Magazine, April 30, 2021, featuring Professor from Practice Mary B. DeRosa.
"Nuclear Command and Control: Session 3 of the Congressional Study Group," coverage in Brookings Institution, December 30, 2020, featuring Professor from Practice Mary B. DeRosa.
The White House announced, on July 7, 2016, President Obama's intention to appoint Distinguished Visitor from Practice and Co-Director of Global Law Scholars Program Mary B. DeRosa to the Intelligence Advisory Board.
"How 4 Federal Lawyers Paved the Way to Kill Osama Bin Laden," coverage in The New York Times, Oct. 28, 2015, featuring Distinguished Visitor From Practice Mary B. DeRosa.