Prerequisite: Admission to this seminar is by permission of the instructor. Students should send a CV and brief statement of their interest in the course and any relevant background to Arlenie Oglesby (asalamat@law.harvard.edu). Applications should be sent by November 14th and decisions will be made by December 5th.

Exam Type: No Exam

The law governing intelligence and national security issues can be difficult to understand without considering the context in which these questions arise, how legal advice is formulated, and the way in which government lawyers and clients make decisions on the challenging issues that arise in national security operations and policymaking. Lawyers practicing in U.S. intelligence agencies play a significant role in agency decision-making but operate within a system of checks and balances that differs from other areas of legal practice. Courts address national security legal questions infrequently in light of the classified nature of much of the work and threshold legal issues that often stand in the way of litigation.

This course is designed to teach students the law that applies to the operation of U.S. intelligence agencies, with a focus on CIA, by examining the dynamics between lawyers and the individuals they advise within the intelligence community and across the federal government. In addition to providing a grounding in the relevant constitutional and statutory law and directives governing the intelligence community, the course will use case studies, both historical and hypothetical, to give students a sense of the experience of national security lawyering and policymaking.

The course will cover a variety of key issues, including the roles of a lawyer in national security decision-making, the relationship between the executive and legislative branches, national security prosecution and litigation, balancing the need for both secrecy and transparency, and challenges posed by emerging technology, operational law advising, and evolving national security threats.