Derwin Brent Pope
Deputy General Counsel, Legal Operations, Office of General Counsel
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
As Deputy General Counsel, Operations, Brent Pope is responsible for leading the OGC District Chief Counsel offices and the Personnel and Torts Law Groups, in meeting the Department’s various legal needs across the country. Previously, Mr. Pope served as Chief Counsel for OGC Midwest District West (Chicago) and OGC Pacific District North (Portland).
Prior to joining VA, Mr. Pope served with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the Deputy Regional Counsel for the Great Lakes Region. He was responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements and agency policy regarding all program areas of the FAA, including aviation oversight and enforcement, agency personnel law, airports and environmental law, procurement, ethics, and real estate.
Mr. Pope served as the Director of Compliance Programs for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from 2007 to 2009. In that capacity, Mr. Pope was the TSA senior executive responsible for establishing TSA strategic direction for transportation security inspections and compliance oversight programs. He managed several oversight branches within TSA covering: aviation inspection oversight; surface inspection oversight, air cargo inspection oversight; and compliance planning and operations.
Prior to that role, Mr. Pope served as TSA’s Assistant Chief Counsel for Field Operations where he supervised all TSA field attorneys in the delivery of legal services to Federal Security Directors and TSA staff throughout the country. Before joining TSA in June 2002, Mr. Pope was an enforcement attorney with the FAA in the FAA’s Northwest Mountain Region (Seattle) and Great Lakes Region (Chicago) for over five years.
Mr. Pope served on active duty with the U. S. Navy as a Judge Advocate for seven years prior to joining the FAA and he retired from the Navy Reserve after 21 years of Army and Navy service.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
2018 – present Deputy General Counsel, Operations
2011 – 2018 Regional Counsel and Chief Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs
2009 – 2011 Deputy Regional Counsel, Great Lakes Region, Federal Aviation Administration
2007 – 2009 Director, Compliance Programs, Transportation Security Administration
2005 – 2007 Assistant Chief Counsel for Field Operations, Transportation Security Administration
2002 – 2005 Supervisory Attorney, Transportation Security Administration
1997 – 2002 Enforcement Attorney, Federal Aviation Administration
1990 – 1997 U.S. Navy. Judge Advocate General’s Corps
EDUCATION:
1990 Juris Doctor; St. Louis University School of law, St. Louis, Missouri
1987 Bachelor of Arts; St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
