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Daniel Cassman

Law. Security. Technology. Policy.

About Me

I’m a national security attorney based in San Francisco. I have extensive experience designing and overseeing compliance programs. I have unique abilities to apply my technical skills in creative ways and to communicate complex technological issues to people without engineering backgrounds. I’ve worked for the National Park Service in Yosemite, Earthjustice in Alaska, and a law firm in New York. During college and law school, I worked as a web developer and created an interactive system that diagrams relationships among terrorist organizations. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, hiking, sports, travel, and tinkering with computers.

Experience

United States Department of Justice |Washington, D.C. & San Francisco, California

Attorney |2017 - Present

  • Represent the United States before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
  • Lead a team of 40 attorneys responsible for oversight of a major intelligence collection program. Reimagined and modernized oversight of that program and built custom software to improve its efficiency and quality.
  • Conduct compliance reviews and training at member agencies of the United States Intelligence Community.
  • Communicate with USIC components to identify, triage, and resolve potential compliance incidents.
  • Produce reports for the FISC, Congress, and the public regarding the USIC’s use of collection authorities.
  • Negotiate an international data-sharing agreement and design related privacy policies.
  • Develop policies and guidelines to ensure compliance with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
  • Assistant Attorney General Award for Outstanding New Initiative (2019)

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit |Macon, Georgia

Law Clerk to the Honorable R. Lanier Anderson III | 2015 - 2016

United States District Court for the Northern District of California |San Francisco, California

Law Clerk to the Honorable Samuel Conti |2014 - 2015

Center for International Security and Cooperation |Stanford, CA

Software Developer, Research Assistant, and Teaching Assistant |2013 - 2014

Analyzed interactions among terrorist organizations in Iraq. Created and maintained interactive software showing relationships among terrorist organizations in several regions worldwide. Advised undergraduate honors students on writing theses related to international security.

Education

Stanford Law School |Stanford, California

Juris Doctor |2013

Honors

  • First Place, Steven M. Block Civil Liberties Award
  • Goldsmith Writing Prize in Conflict Resolution
  • Moot Court: Best Oral Argument, Quarterfinalist

Activities

  • Stanford Law Review Executive Board (Senior Online Editor)
  • Timor-Leste Legal Education Project
  • International Human Rights Clinic

Stanford University | Stanford, California

Bachelor of Arts | 2010

Political Science, Computer Science Minor

Honors

  • Honors in International Security Studies
  • Distinction (top 15% of class)

Publications & Writing

Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe: An Empirical Analysis of the State Secrets Doctrine

67 Stanford Law Review 1173 | 2015

http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/print/article/keep-it-secret-keep-it-safe

Persistence and Recurrence of Internal Armed Conflict

Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation | 2010

https://purl.stanford.edu/hh223mq2639

Nuclear Challenge from Pakistan and Iran — Part I (with Matthew Rojansky)

YaleGlobal Online | 2009

https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/nuclear-challenge-pakistan-and-iran-part-i