Most Important Skills for an Agency Counsel at Department of Defense
Agency Counsel at the Department of Defense requires dedication to "the task," prioritizing "ship, shipmate, self," meaning mission, colleagues, and then personal needs. The work demands honesty, a commitment to finding answers even if it means admitting "I don't know," and strong legal reasoning skills along with the ability to "think on your feet."
Communication, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Dedication, Ethical Considerations
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Andrew Henderson
Agency Counsel
Department of Defense
Bates College
Pepperdine University School of Law (JD); University of Redlands School of Business (MA); Army JAG School (LLM)
Political Science, American Studies
Government & Public Sector, Law
Legal
Took Out Loans, Veteran
Video Highlights
1. Dedication and mission focus are paramount; working for a greater purpose is central to the role.
2. Honesty and thoroughness are crucial; providing accurate information, even if it means admitting uncertainty, is essential.
3. Prioritizing the mission, teamwork ('shipmate'), and then individual needs is a core value in this work environment.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
In general, to practice law, you need to be conversant with the language and able to think on your feet. However, more specifically for my role as a government attorney, you need dedication to the task.
We are mission-focused. I'm not in it for the money, and neither are most of my colleagues. We are in it for something else: working for something bigger, a sense of purpose.
We also owe a great deal of honesty to our client. A problem you can often run into is an attorney who might wing it or give an answer off the cuff that might not be quite right. We owe our client an answer.
If we don't know the answer, sometimes you need to say, "I don't know, but I will find out." And of course, you need to follow up with that.
There's a saying in the Navy about ranking what's most important: "ship, shipmate, self." Our first obligation is to the ship, or the bigger cause. Our next obligation is to the person next to us. We come in third because there's a greater dedication to the mission and getting things done.
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