James C. Owens

Deputy General Counsel

James C. Owens is Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Mr. Owens first joined the Department when he was appointed as the Legal Advisor to the General Counsel in January 2017, and served as Acting General Counsel from August through November 2017.  Mr. Owens has also served as an attorney for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he investigated and prosecuted fraud and manipulation in the nation’s energy markets.  Prior to entering Federal service, Mr. Owens was in private practice in Washington, D.C. focusing on civil and criminal litigation.    Early in his career, Mr. Owens was a law clerk to then-Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

A native of Winchester, Virginia, Mr. Owens holds an undergraduate degree magna cum laude from James Madison University.  Mr. Owens received his law degree, as well as an M.A. and a Ph.D., from the University of Virginia. He lives in Loudoun County, VA with his wife, two children, and two dogs.