| General Counsel of the Navy | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Office of the General Counsel | |
 Flag of the general counsel and assistant secretaries of the navy | |
| Department of the Navy Office of the Secretary | |
| Style | The Honorable (formal address in writing) |
| Reports to | Secretary of the Navy Under Secretary of the Navy |
| Seat | The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States |
| Nominator | The president with Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | 10 U.S.C. § 8019 |
| Precursor | Solicitor General of the Navy |
| Formation | 1941 |
| First holder | H. Struve Hensel |
| Succession | 18th in SecDef succession by seniority of appointment |
| Deputy | Principal Deputy General Counsel |
| Salary | Executive Schedule, level IV [1] |
| Website | Official website |
The general counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the U.S. Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the secretary of the navy. The Office of the General Counsel of the Navy provides legal advice to the secretary, the under secretary and the various assistant secretaries and their staffs. The general counsel is the third highest-ranking civilian office in the Department of the Navy, behind the Secretary and Under Secretary of the Navy.
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The general counsel maintains a close working relationship with the judge advocate general, the senior uniformed lawyer in the Department of the Navy who performs statutory duties under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The general counsel manages nearly 650 attorneys worldwide, helps to oversee the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and advises senior Navy and Marine Corps officials on litigation, acquisition, contractual, fiscal, environmental, property, personnel, legislative, ethics, and intelligence law issues.
