Legal Office

Office of General Counsel, Johnson Space Center
Monica M. Ceruti, Chief Counsel

The Office of General Counsel (OGC), Johnson Space Center (JSC) is a legal office that
provides in-depth legal support to the programs and activities of JSC and the agency’s enterprise,
including satellite installations and offices. In general, the OGC-Johnson provides ethics
counseling and general legal services; participates in procurement and other contractual
agreement activities; provides advice and guidance on negotiating, drafting, and interpreting
transactional arrangements including Space Act Agreements as well as issues related to the
commercialization of NASA activities; assists in counseling on JSC’s international activities to
protect the national security of the United States and further U.S. foreign policy objectives;
provides advice and assistance to the Center Director and to JSC organizational components in
planning, directing, and conducting JSC activities which may have legal implications; conducts
legal research and maintains a law library; aids in the development of new administrative
techniques and identification of alternatives for the resolution of managerial problems within the
framework of law, program schedules, and NASA administrative practices; serves as JSC’s
primary point of contact on litigation and other legal matters within or beyond the Center; and
provides intellectual property counseling and services for managing the Center’s patent portfolio
in terms of patent prosecution and maintenance before the United States Patent and Trademark
Office.

In the case of general legal matters, the Office provides counseling on a variety of general legal
matters that include ethics, personnel matters, claims for and against the Center, review of
internal Agency policies and procedures, public access to Agency records, Center activities
affecting the environment, and legal issues concerning real and personal property. This Office
also serves as the Agency’s/Center’s legal representative before the administrative boards of other
Federal agencies and serves as the primary point of contact with the Department of Justice in
litigation matters. With respect to matters related to counseling on ethics, the Office’s functions
include counseling employees and Center management officials regarding The Standards of
Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch and NASA’s supplement thereto. It
also includes counseling on outside employment activities, financial conflict-of-interest issues,
post-Government employment matters, and review of public and confidential financial interest
reports and resolution of issues arising from these reviews.

Representational responsibilities before other Federal agencies involve the Office in matters such
as discrimination complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, personnel
actions before the Merit Systems Protection Board, unfair labor actions before the Federal Labor
Relations Authority, safety issues before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
environmental issues before the Environmental Protection Agency or the authorized state
enforcement agency, and patent matters before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
In the area of Center and Agency procurements, the Office provides legal advice and services
relating to the processes of entering into and administering federal contracts. With respect to
contract formation, functions include legal review of solicitations, contracts, and supporting
procurement documentation; drafting solicitation and contract provisions; providing continuing
advice and counsel to buyers, contracting officers, and source evaluation boards which conduct
major Center procurements; providing advice to Center management regarding procurement
actions and source selections; and participating in contract negotiations. Activities also include
providing advice when some aspect of a Center procurement is challenged and defending
protests to procurements. Legal functions concerning contract administration include furnishing
advice in the interpretation of contract provisions and on the propriety of proposed actions to be
taken under contracts (e.g., the issuance of change orders, terminations), as well as advice
concerning the legal soundness of positions taken by contractors and the Government on matters
at issue. When such matters cannot be resolved through negotiation and become formal disputes,
the Office provides advice and assistance in the development of the contracting officer’s final
agency decision and associated record and acts as, or provides advice to, counsel trying cases
before the General Accounting Office, the Armed Service Board of Contract Appeals, or the
Court of Federal Claims.

Other significant functions of the Office include practicing preventive law by means such as
conducting training sessions and publishing lessons learned sessions via video and keeping
abreast of new developments in the Agency’s activities and in law by review of a wide variety of
sources of news and information.

Mailing Address:
NASA – Johnson Space Center
Legal Office
Mailcode AL
2101 NASA Parkway
Houston, TX 77058