Rajesh De

Raj De is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and leads the firm’s global Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice. He is also co-leader of the firm’s National Security practice group, and a member of the firm’s Congressional Investigations & Crisis Management team.

After nearly two decades in private practice and public service across all three branches of the United States government, Raj is one of the most trusted voices in Washington. He has held senior appointments in the White House, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Defense (DOD).

Raj returned to Mayer Brown in 2015 after serving as General Counsel at the United States National Security Agency (NSA). Since returning to the firm, Raj has received numerous recognitions, including by American Lawyer (“Lateral All-Star”), Washingtonianmagazine (“Top Lawyer”), National Law Journal (“Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Trailblazer”), and Cybersecurity Docket (“Incident Response 30”).

Raj focuses his practice on cutting-edge legal and policy issues at the nexus of technology, national security, law enforcement and privacy, including strategic cybersecurity counseling and related representation.

Specifically, Raj advises companies as they anticipate threats, assists them as they comply with data security and privacy requirements, and represents them as they address cyber vulnerabilities and breaches, as well as associated regulatory, litigation and reputational consequences.

Under his leadership, the firm’s global and multidisciplinary Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice addresses the full array of issues facing multinational businesses, including the following:

• Security breach preparation and response
• Data privacy and security litigation
• Supply chain and vendor management, including in government contracting
• Legislative advocacy
• Regulatory and compliance

As General Counsel of the NSA, Raj served as the agency’s chief legal officer and senior advisor to the NSA Director. He supervised an office of approximately 100 lawyers and staff that handled litigation and provided legal advice across a range of issue areas, including foreign intelligence, cybersecurity, government contracts, intellectual property, research and technology, administrative law, government ethics and pending legislation.

As a member of the NSA’s senior leadership team, Raj represented the agency regularly with senior officials across the executive branch, as well as before the United States Congress, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and European and other foreign governments.

Earlier in his career, Raj clerked for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California. He graduated magna cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Harvard College.

Education :

• Harvard College, AB, magna cum laude
• Harvard Law School, JD, magna cum laude

Admissions : District of Columbia