David A. Samuels

David A. Samuels served as center chief counsel at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, for more than 20 years prior to his retirement in January 2021.

Since August 2000, Samuels was the senior attorney and legal counsel for the center director and headed the center’s five-person legal office. Samuels also served as NASA deputy ethics official, center export control counsel, legal adviser for several boards, committees and councils and was responsible for all legal matters involving or affecting Armstrong. In addition, he was a member of the NASA Legal Leadership Team comprised of the agency’s attorney leaders, established to set legal policy and improve the quality of legal services.

Prior to joining Armstrong, Samuels served for more than 11 years as an attorney adviser at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. In that position, he handled a broad range of legal issues and matters in both general and government contract law.

A former commander in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Samuels served as a military lawyer on active duty from 1983 to 1989 and then in the naval reserve in a variety of increasingly responsible positions. From 1984 to 1986, he was a defense trial counsel at the Naval Legal Services Office in Philadelphia, representing enlisted members and officers in criminal cases at more than 60 courts-martial and 40 administrative disciplinary hearings. During this period, he also served as the Navy’s sole claims officer for the five-state area encompassing New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Delaware, and as liaison to the U.S. Department of Justice for all related civil litigation.

Samuels provided legal advice and counsel as the assistant staff judge advocate for the flag officer of the Philadelphia Naval Base from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 1989, he served as staff judge advocate for the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, the largest U.S. submarine base and a major shore command housing more than 50 tenant activities and 43,000 people.

Samuels received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1978 from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1982 from Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar, Senior Executive Service and numerous other professional associations. He has received many awards and honors during his career, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2008.