Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP (Washington, D.C.)
Former General Counsel (Acting) and Former Deputy General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security
Email: gcoldebella@goodwinprocter.com
Areas of Interest
Homeland security and intelligence law
Cybersecurity
Private-sector critical infrastructure protection
Biography
From February 7, 2007 to January 20, 2009, Gus P. Coldebella served as the top lawyer in the Department of Homeland Security, managing the 1,750 lawyers throughout the Department and its components, advising the Secretary and other senior leadership on issues arising throughout DHS, and coordinating with officials at executive branch agencies and at the White House on homeland security-related issues. He concentrated on matters such as cyber security, border security, critical infrastructure protection, privacy and civil liberties, immigration law, public-private information sharing, SAFETY Act implementation, and regulation of travel and air transportation, as well as DHS’s role in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, and other international trade and investment issues. He joined DHS as deputy general counsel in October 2005.
Gus came to DHS after 11 years in private practice at Goodwin Procter LLP, to which he has now returned. Gus is a partner in Goodwin Procter's litigation department, specializing in complex trial and appellate work; internal and governmental investigations, including congressional, SEC, and other agency investigations; and advice regarding the Department of Homeland Security and other defense, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies and entities. He is a member of the White Collar and Government Investigations, and the Securities Litigation and SEC Enforcement, practice groups.
Gus is a graduate of Colgate University, where he currently serves as the president of its 30,000-member Alumni Corporation, and an ex officio member of its Board of Trustees. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from Cornell Law School and was the symposium editor of the Cornell Law Review. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Heather and their daughter Tenley.
