Careers at the Department of Justice featuring Attorneys Sushma Soni ’90 and Leonard Bailey ’91

Join Sushma Soni '90 and Leonard Bailey '91 of the Department of Justice, as they discuss their long careers at the Department of Justice and answer your questions regarding summer legal internships and permanent positions at DOJ. Ms. Soni and Mr. Bailey have experience in Civil Appellate, the National Security Division and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. They both have significant experience in federal government work, including through numerous changes in administration. 

Lunch will be provided to those who register before October 11. This program will NOT be recorded. 

Sushma Soni received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, after obtaining an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Ms. Soni clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit before joining the Civil Division, Appellate Staff through the Department of Justice Honors Program. Ms. Soni has briefed and argued appeals on behalf of the federal government in every Circuit Court in the country and in two State Supreme Courts, as well as in the D.C. Court of Appeals. Ms. Soni also serves as Training Coordinator for the Appellate Staff, in which capacity she has organized, among other things, panels on topics such as oral advocacy and brief-writing; panels on “best practices” in written and oral advocacy with judges from the Fourth, District of Columbia, and Federal Circuits; and Q&As with federal appellate judges and general counsels and deputy general counsels of client agencies. Ms. Soni has also organized Civil Appellate visits to client agencies such as ATF, DEA, and FBI for training on lethal force policies. During her career, Ms. Soni has received the Assistant Attorney General’s Career Service Award, the Civil Division’s Training and Professional Development Award, and a special commendation from the FBI. Ms. Soni has served as Treasurer for the YLS Executive Committee, as well as a class agent and reunion committee chair. 

Leonard Bailey received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1991. He joined the Terrorism and Violent Crime Section that year through the Department of Justice’s Honors Program. In the late 1990’s, he served as Special Counsel and Special Investigative Counsel to the Department’s Inspector General, supervising sensitive investigations of Department officials and programs. In 2000 he joined the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section’s (CCIPS), where he has prosecuted computer crime and intellectual property cases; advised on searching and seizing electronic evidence and conducting electronic surveillance; and chaired the Organization of American States’ Group of Government Experts on Cybercrime. His time at CCIPS overlapped with other positions he has taken in the Department: Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Currently, he is Head of the Cybersecurity Unit and Special Counsel for National Security. Mr. Bailey has taught courses on cybersecurity law and cybercrime at Georgetown University Law School, where he was named the 2024 Charles Fahey Distinguished Adjunct Professor, and Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. He also teaches critical infrastructure protection at NYU’s Law School and School of Engineering.