Paul Charles Ney Jr. (born June 6, 1958) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who served as the

General Counsel of the Department of Defense The General Counsel of the Department of Defense is the general counsel, chief legal officer of the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DoD), advising both the United States Secretary of Defense, Secretary and United States ...

of the United States from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Acting

General Counsel of the Navy The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the United States Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the ...

and as the Chief Deputy Attorney General of Tennessee.

Early life

Paul C. Ney Jr. attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

in 1980. Ney next enrolled in the joint

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

and

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

program at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, graduating in 1984. He then spent 1984–85 clerking for Judge

Adrian G. Duplantier Adrian Guy Duplantier Sr. (March 5, 1929 – August 15, 2007) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, represent ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Ap ...

Career

In 1985, Ney joined the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Trauger, Ney & Tuke in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He became a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

of the firm in 1990. His practice at Trauger, Ney & Tuke focused on civil litigation,

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

and

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

, and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

. He also served as the

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the Tennessee Republican Party and as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

. In 2006,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

named Ney Principal Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of the Navy. He served as Acting General Counsel of the Navy from January 2, 2006 until September 25, 2006. Upon leaving the Department of the Navy, Ney joined Nashville Mayor

Karl Dean Karl Foster Dean (born September 20, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 6th Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Pu ...

's Office of Economic and Community Development. In February 2010, Ney joined the law firm of Patterson Intellectual Property Law. On August 25, 2016,

Tennessee Attorney General The Tennessee Attorney General (officially, Attorney General and Reporter) is a position within the Government of Tennessee, Tennessee state government. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for Tennessee. The curren ...

Herbert Slatery Herbert H. Slatery III (born March 8, 1952) is an American attorney from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, he served as the Attorney General of Tennessee from 2014 to 2022. Early life Herbert Slatery received his bachelor's degree from the U ...

announced that Ney would join the Attorney General's Office as Chief Deputy. In his role as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Ney coordinates and supervises the substantive legal work of all five sections of the office. In January 2018, 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 ...

announced Ney as his nominee for General Counsel of the Department of Defense. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 12, 2018.

References

External links

Department of Defense biography
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Paul C. Jr. 1958 births Living people Cornell University alumni General Counsels of the United States Navy George W. Bush administration personnel Tennessee lawyers Tennessee Republicans Trump administration personnel United States Department of Defense officials Vanderbilt University alumni