James Michael Byrne (born August 28, 1964) is an American lawyer who served as the

United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs The deputy secretary of veterans affairs, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and nat ...

from August 2018 to February 2020. He previously served as the general counsel for the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

Education

Byrne receive an undergraduate engineering degree from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, where he was a distinguished graduate and the brigade commander. He earned his J.D. from

Stetson University College of Law Stetson University College of Law (Stetson Law), founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Flor ...

. After law school, he clerked for Judge

Malcolm Jones Howard Malcolm Jones Howard (born June 24, 1939) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Education and career Born in Kinston, North Carolina, Howard received a Bachelo ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

Career

Prior to serving at the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Byrne was Associate General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer at

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

. At Lockheed Martin, he also served as the company's primary cyber and counterintelligence attorney. Byrne served as a deployed Marine Infantry Officer. In 2004, he served active duty with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

for 18 months, where he was an officer in charge of the Marine Liaison Office at medical centers in Maryland. In this capacity, he supported injured and deceased marines and their families. Byrne worked for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

as an international narcotics prosecutor. He has also served as a career Senior Executive Service Deputy Special Counsel with the

United States Office of Special Counsel The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from four federal statutes: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Prot ...

and as both General Counsel and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations with the

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (October 2004 - October 2013) was created as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General (CPA-IG). SIGIR was an independent government ...

. He is a former adjunct professor of

Marymount University Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It has approximately 3,897 students enrolled, representing approximately 45 states an ...

and

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

. Until August 2017, Byrne served on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Board and the International Association of Privacy Professionals Board of Directors. Byrne volunteers in his community, and has served on several non-profit and advisory boards. For ten years, he volunteered on the Executive Board of Give an Hour, a non-profit organization that has developed national networks of volunteer professionals capable of providing complimentary and confidential mental health services in response to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society, beginning with the mental health needs of post-9/11 veterans, service members and their families.

Department of Veterans Affairs

From 2017 to 2019, Byrne served as VA's General Counsel, being nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. On August 28, 2018, Trump named Byrne as Acting Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. On April 12, 2019, Trump nominated Byrne to serve permanently as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 11, 2019 and was sworn in on September 16, 2019. Byrne retired from government service on February 3, 2020.

Corporate Senior Executive and Board Director

Since his departure from the VA he now works as a Vice President at Lockheed Martin Corporation, serves on several corporate and non-profit boards, and advocates for veterans.LinkedIn Profile
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, James 1964 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers Lockheed Martin people Stetson University College of Law alumni Trump administration personnel United States Deputy Secretaries of Veterans Affairs United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Academy alumni