Spencer R. Fisher

Spencer R. Fisher is the Chief Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which serves as the Nation’s risk advisor, working with partners to defend against today’s threats and collaborating to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future.

Prior to joining CISA, Mr. Fisher served as a Chief Counsel with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Office of General Counsel.  In this position, he managed a team that supports the Directorate of Mission Integration including the Deputy DNI for Mission Integration, the DNI’s principal advisor on all aspects of intelligence, the President’s Daily Brief staff, the National Intelligence Council and the National Intelligence Managers including the Cyber, Economic Security/Financial Intelligence, Election Threats/Foreign Malign Influence, and Space Executives. He provided legal counsel to senior Intelligence Community (IC) leadership on key intelligence and surveillance legal issues including intelligence activities, analysis, and production under applicable Executive Orders, Presidential directives, and other laws and policies.

In 2019 and 2020, he served on a Joint Duty Assignment as a Deputy Legal Advisor at the National Security Council, Legal Affairs Directorate (NSC Legal). At NSC Legal, he provided legal counsel on national security and foreign relations issues to the Cybersecurity, International Organizations and Alliances, African Affairs, International Trade and Economic Affairs, and Strategic Planning Directorates.  From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Fisher was assigned as Chief Counsel for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center where he provided legal advice and analysis on key counterintelligence and security issues, including critical infrastructure security, to the Director of National Counterintelligence and Security. Mr. Fisher’s work in the Intelligence Community began in September 2015, initially serving as legislative counsel at ODNI where he was responsible for coordinating the development of the IC’s legislative program.

Prior to joining the IC, Mr. Fisher served as a Trial Attorney with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). While at DOJ, he litigated several major federal voting rights cases on behalf of the United States, including Texas v. Holder (2012) and United States v. North Carolina (2015). Mr. Fisher has served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for over 22 years (currently a Chief Warrant Officer 4). He is assigned to the Marine Innovation Unit in New York and is also a distance education student at the Marine Corps University Command and Staff College. He has held numerous leadership positions in the Marine Corps Reserve including as a Ground Combat Element Project Officer at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia and as an Executive Officer and Platoon Commander in the 6th Engineer Support Battalion in Wilmington, Delaware.

Mr. Fisher has also worked as an Adjunct Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School and clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Fisher received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.