
Matthew G. Olsen
Partner
- Co-Chair, Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice
Matthew Olsen is the co-chair of the firm’s Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice. As an internationally-recognized leader on national security law and policy, he advises clients navigating a wide range of legal and business risks when operating in complex legal, regulatory, and geopolitical national security environments.
With decades of leadership and hands-on experience in the government and private sector, Mr. Olsen focuses his practice on an array of national security, technology, and defense-related challenges, including: government investigations and litigation; crisis response and congressional oversight; export controls and economic sanctions; foreign investment and CFIUS; law enforcement and intelligence legal process; data privacy, cyber security, and artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
From 2021 to 2025, Mr. Olsen served as Assistant Attorney General for National Security in the Department of Justice, leading DOJ’s mission to defend the United States against nation-state adversaries, foreign investment risks, espionage, cyber attacks, terrorism, and other national security threats. He was the principal architect of the Department’s national security enforcement strategy, which has increasingly implicated the intersection of corporate enforcement and national security.
From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Olsen served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, where he led the government’s efforts to combat terrorism through the integration and analysis of intelligence and strategic operational planning. Previously, he was the General Counsel of the National Security Agency, serving as the chief legal officer for the nation’s largest intelligence agency.
For 18 years, Mr. Olsen worked at the Department of Justice as a career attorney and in a number of leadership positions, including as Special Counselor to the Attorney General and Special Counsel to the FBI Director. He served for over a decade as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, handling dozens of jury trials and complex investigations. Mr. Olsen joined the Department of Justice in 1992 as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division.
In the private sector, Mr. Olsen served as the Chief Trust and Security Officer for Uber Technologies, Inc. In this role, he oversaw all aspects of Uber’s security, including the company’s state-of-the-art cyber security program, corporate investigations, and public safety and law enforcement engagement globally. Prior to joining Uber, he co-founded and operated a cyber security consulting and software startup alongside former senior National Security Agency and Defense Department officials, advising companies on cyber risk and mitigation strategies to combat advanced threats.
Mr. Olsen clerked for the Honorable Norma Holloway Johnson of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Professional Activities
Mr. Olsen is a frequent contributor on national security, law enforcement and intelligence issues, appearing on multiple media outlets and working with ABC News as a national security analyst from 2014 to 2018. He has been on the faculty of Harvard Law School, the University of Virginia Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.
Insights & News
Credentials
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Education
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JD, Harvard Law School, 1988
cum laude -
BA, University of Virginia, 1984
high distinction
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Admissions
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District of Columbia
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Clerkships
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The Hon. Norma Holloway, US District Court for the District of Columbia, 1988 - 1990
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Government Experience
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Department of Justice
National Security Division
Assistant Attorney General for National Security -
Executive Office of the President
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Director of National Counterterrorism Center -
Department of Defense
National Security Agency
General Counsel -
Department of Justice
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Associate Deputy Attorney General -
Department of Justice
Office of the Attorney General
Special Counselor to the Attorney General -
Department of Justice
National Security Division
Deputy Assistant Attorney General -
Department of Justice
United States Attorney's Office
Assistant United States Attorney, District of Columbia
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Credentials
-
Education
-
JD, Harvard Law School, 1988
cum laude -
BA, University of Virginia, 1984
high distinction
-
-
Admissions
-
District of Columbia
-
-
Clerkships
-
The Hon. Norma Holloway, US District Court for the District of Columbia, 1988 - 1990
-
-
Government Experience
-
Department of Justice
National Security Division
Assistant Attorney General for National Security -
Executive Office of the President
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Director of National Counterterrorism Center -
Department of Defense
National Security Agency
General Counsel -
Department of Justice
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Associate Deputy Attorney General -
Department of Justice
Office of the Attorney General
Special Counselor to the Attorney General -
Department of Justice
National Security Division
Deputy Assistant Attorney General -
Department of Justice
United States Attorney's Office
Assistant United States Attorney, District of Columbia
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