Jim Mahoney
Chief Counsel of the NASA Management Office (NMO) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Jim Mahoney is the Chief Counsel of the NASA Management Office (NMO) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The NMO at JPL is composed of a cadre of NASA management and technical specialists who manage NASA’s only federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), which, for the past 40+years, has been operated under a $2 Billion/yr contract with the California Institute of Technology (“Caltech” University). Under the oversight of the NMO, JPL performs world class, cutting edge science and engineering research and technology development, and often leads NASA’s missions involving robotic exploration of our solar system and studies of the universe. JPL also designs and operates NASA’s deep space communication network (DSN) locations in California, Spain, and Australia. Jim’s work at JPL includes advising the NMO Director and staff in all legal aspects of FFRDC oversight, and negotiating and administering the FFRDC contract and the DSN international contracts. He is supported locally by two talented staff attorneys, and generally by the HQ Office of General Counsel (OGC). Jim is a graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder and Georgetown Law School, and his early career includes service as a Navy JAG attorney as well as private practice.
