President Biden announced today he will nominate Christopher Fonzone – who brings expertise in IT and cybersecurity legal issues – to serve as general counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Fonzone served as deputy assistant and deputy counsel to former President Obama and as legal adviser to the National Security Council, where he advised officials on a range of issues related to national security and foreign policy. Fonzone has also served in legal roles at the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice.
Currently, Fonzone is a partner in Sidley Austin’s Privacy and Cybersecurity group in the Washington, D.C. office.
According to Sidley’s website, Fonzone’s practice “focuses on a wide range of issues related to information technology and cybersecurity, and [Fonzone] also has particular experience in assisting in the management of crisis situations and advising senior clients on a variety of national security issues, including military and intelligence operations, litigation and other forms of dispute resolution, encryption, foreign trade sanctions, and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) matters.”
