Kyle Bernal
The legal industry is changing rapidly to accommodate the needs of the public better and provide quick solutions to legal issues. In navigating this highly sophisticated landscape, the nation needs top-notch leaders that know the ins and outs of compliance and policy initiatives. Know the top general counsel leaders here.
Table of Contents
1. Matthew Madalo, Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Siemens Government Technologies
Image from Siemens Government Technologies
Matthew Madalo is the Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer of Siemens Government Technologies. SGT is a Siemens’ U.S. government arm solving automation, digitalization, and energy challenges.
Matthew Madalo leads SGT’s legal, contracts, compliance, and industrial security and facilities teams. He navigates all elements of government reporting requirements to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, including foreign ownership, intellectual, export controls, and property and data rights.
Before this role, Madalo was Siemens’ Vice President of Legal, Contracts, and Compliance. He also held similar positions at Rapiscan Systems, IRIS Data Service, and other companies.
What’s Next for Matthew Madalo
In 2023, Matthew Madalo’s team has set some strategic goals, for example, by broadening the company’s customer base and creating efficiencies where compliance is a part of the support structure, helping to achieve business goals.
They have revised their review process of contracts and proposals to support the organization better and are currently training their employees, leaders, and agency partners to strengthen their compliance capabilities.
“For me, it’s all about building robust compliance systems and strengthening what we already have and ensuring we have very robust compliance tools that our people are well trained to utilize,” Madalo said
2. Kevin Boyle, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of V2X
Image from V2X
Kevin Boyle is the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of V2X, a professional services provider of IT solutions, logistics, and supply chain management for the federal government and international markets.
He has held the position since October 2018, and immediately took responsibility for the company’s contracts, ethics, legal matters, security, corporate compliance, and government relations.
Before this role, Boyle held the same positions at Vencore, Alion Science and Technology, MCR, and Vangent. He has spent over 25 years advising the board of directors and chief officers of public and private startups and giant corporations.
Kevin Boyle helped establish the first ethics and compliance training program during his tenure at Anteon, now known as General Dynamics Information Technology. He was instrumental in merging Vencore with two other companies to form Perspecta.
What’s Next for Kevin Boyle
This year, Kevin Boyle has focused on protecting and growing V2X’s brand, creating solutions that the company may face, and developing diverse and skilled organizations.
Boyle values employing strong leadership in his team. He conducts weekly individual meetings with the department leads and guides them in their projects at hand.
“Employing really strong leadership at the top of my teams is key. I do one-on-one meetings with each of my department leads every week, and it’s an opportunity for them to engage me to help drive their projects forward,” Boyle said.
3. Devon Engel, Vice President and General Counsel of General Dynamics Mission Systems
Image from General Dynamics Mission Systems
Devon Engel is the Vice President and General Counsel of General Dynamics Mission Systems, the business unit that provides mission-critical, cyber-secure systems for military and government organizations. His responsibilities include government contracting and other legal functions.
Engel has held the position since he joined the company in 1996. Before this role, he was an Associate at Crowell & Moring for government contracts, where his legal career started. David Engel has authored multiple articles and lectured on government contracts and legal subjects.
Before moving to Arizona, Engel stayed in Washington D.C, where he provided pro bono legal services on adoption matters and helped oppose a high-profile petition to the Supreme Court.
David Engel won Executive Mosaic’s Top General Counsels in Government Contracting Award in 2016.
What’s Next for Devon Engel
David Engel is a member of the Board of Directors for Law Rocks, a nonprofit organization that features bands composed of lawyers from cities around the world to raise money for local charities and music education programs for kids. So far, it has raised $4 million in 2021.
4. Hilary Hageman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel of SAIC
Image from SAIC
In July 2022, Hilary Hageman was named the Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel of Science Applications International Corporation, a government military contractor and a leading provider of technical, engineering, and enterprise information technology (IT) services. Hageman oversees the company’s legal, internal audit, internal controls, ethics, and risk management activities.
Before these roles, she held the same positions at Terran Orbital Corporation and Cubic Corporation. Hageman joined SAIC in August 2016 as Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Cyber Security Counsel.
“As we move forward, I am pleased to welcome Hilary back to SAIC as our new General Counsel. She is an exceptional addition to our leadership team, and I look forward to working with her,” said Nazzic Keene, SAIC’s CEO.
What’s Next for Hilary Hageman
Hilary Hageman’s extensive knowledge and legal experience in public corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, government contracting, national security law, ethics, and global trade and security functions have been valuable assets to SAIC.
She is a panel member of all-female cyber experts with experience in the public and private sectors. She currently focuses on the different types of security threats and introduces the world of cybersecurity to law students.
5. Maryanne Lavan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel at Lockheed Martin
Image from Lockheed Martin Corporation
Maryanne Lavan is the Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel of Lockheed Martin, an American global security and aerospace corporation. She oversees the company’s legal affairs, law department, the Board of Directors, and senior leaders.
Lavan joined Lockheed in 1990 as an attorney. Before assuming her current position in September 2010, she served several positions in the legal department, including the Vice President of Internal Audit.
Maryanne Lavan enjoys working outside the legal department to gain perspective, which is advantageous for her current role.
She is an active member of the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association, a Board of Directors member of the National Chamber Litigation Center, and a Trustee of The University at Albany Foundation, her alma mater.
Lavan encourages law students not to hesitate to follow in her footsteps. “Get experience outside the corporate world first. Get out and get on-the-ground experiences, and bring that expertise to the corporate world,” she said.
What’s Next for Maryanne Lavan
Maryanne Lavan is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal field for women and minorities. She serves on the governing bodies for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and Equal Justice Works.
In terms of ensuring compliance, Lavan’s team has a rigorous process for screening their consultants. They provide training in compliance with UK anti corruption strategy, international anti corruption regulations, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
What Are the Top 3 Legal Issues Caused by Technology?
Technology has undoubtedly revolutionized the processes of the government and organizations, making them more efficient. However, it has also opened doors to many legal issues that must be addressed.
1. Open Source Software
Open-source software and development approaches save money and development time by using freely available components instead of writing new code for new applications and quick deployment.
The federal government has been embracing open source. However, the government is being slowed down because many agencies employ large legacy IT infrastructure and systems holding millions of users’ sensitive data.
The legal issues tied to open-source software include dual-licensing, intellectual property infringement from third parties, and software patent liability.
In September 2022, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security introduced the Securing Open Source Software Act (SOSSA) as the federal government’s initiative regarding open-source software security problems.
2. Cloud Computing
As the federal government adopts cloud computing, agencies face challenges ensuring cybersecurity and procuring cloud services.
The legal issues that can arise “in the cloud” include liability for copyright infringement, hacking, data losses and breaches, security violations, and other complex problems leading to regulatory matters before courts and agencies in the U.S. and globally.
The federal government’s response was to create a transparent security environment between cloud providers and consumers by introducing the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The NIST also issued technical security guidance focused on continuously monitoring cloud computing solutions, following the Risk Management Framework.
3. Data Security
The legal issues related to data privacy and information security include designing an IT infrastructure, outside vendors, independent contractors, and transmitting data internationally.
In 2015, the federal government faced the largest data breach incident in U.S. history. The Office of Personnel Management’s personnel records were hacked, losing the
information of over 25 million Americans to foreign attackers. This incident prompted the government to secure data in the emerging digital age.
No single and comprehensive federal law protects the use and collection of personal data. Instead, the government regulates specific sectors and types of sensitive information. For example, in the health industry, HIPAA covered entities with “protected health information” in the health industry.
