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Terence Carlson

Assistant General Counsel for Federal Financial Assistance, Acquisitions, and Fiscal Law

Terence Carlson is the Assistant General Counsel for Federal Financial Assistance, Acquisitions, and Fiscal Law. In this position, Mr. Carlson advises senior DOT officials on policies and programs on a broad range of legal issues affecting DOT’s multibillion dollar federal financial assistance programs, acquisitions and fiscal law matters. Mr. Carlson supervises and manages all legal matters related to grants and loans, the procurement of goods and services, and the use of appropriated funds and fiscal management. 

Prior to his current position, Mr. Carlson served as Assistant General Counsel for General Law, from 2013 to 2024, where he led an office that supervised and managed many of DOT’s administrative operations, including the above legal issues and equal employment opportunity and other civil rights issues, personnel law, ethics, real property, and asset management. Mr. Carlson also served as DOT's Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

Mr. Carlson was Deputy Assistant General Counsel for General Law from 2008 to 2013, where he worked closely with the Assistant General Counsel to supervise and manage the Office of General Law and its practice areas. Mr. Carlson was previously a staff attorney in the Office of General Law, where his areas of practice included fiscal law, procurement, financial assistance, innovative financing and public private partnerships. Mr. Carlson began his legal career in DOT as an Honors Attorney, serving rotational assignments in the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Offices of Legislation and Litigation in DOT's Office of the General Counsel.

Mr. Carlson received the Federal Bar Association's Transportation Lawyer of the Year Award, and numerous Secretarial and Office of the General Counsel awards, including the Secretary's Award for Meritorious Achievement, the Secretary's Award for Superior Achievement, the General Counsel's Award for Exceptional Service, and the General Counsel's Award for Exceptional Performance.

Mr. Carlson received his Juris Doctor from Catholic University of America and his Bachelor Arts from Fordham University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Last updated: Tuesday, October 1, 2024