Terence Check is Senior Counsel for International Law and Infrastructure Security in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Office of Chief Counsel. In this role, Terence advises on operational law matters in support of CISA’s critical infrastructure security mission, particularly on information-sharing and data protection, school safety, international relations, and strategic policy issues for the Infrastructure Security Division and CISA Office of International Affairs. Terence advises on constitutional and national security law issues while also managing CISA’s repository of legal, regulatory, and policy authorities.

Prior to joining CISA, Terence served as an Attorney-Advisor in the DHS Office of the General Counsel’s Operations and Enforcement Law Division. Terence advised DHS offices and components on matters involving screening/vetting, biometrics (including facial recognition and DNA), data privacy, and information-sharing issues. In this role, Terence served as a lead negotiator on Department-wide info-sharing and border security agreements across the Americas and Europe, finalizing complex technical agreements with several countries and participating in dozens of negotiations with senior staff and political leaders from more than 13 different nations. Terence also expanded DHS’s biometric support to federal criminal prosecutions, resulting in scores of convictions for crimes ranging from naturalization fraud to drug smuggling. Before that, Terence worked in the National Protection and Programs Law Division and advised on a wide range of general law and operational matters, including internal investigations, tort claims, and information law. Terence also worked as a consultant in the DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate assisting the Office of the Under Secretary with reorganization efforts and strategic planning. While at American University, Terence served a Fellow in the Office of the Chairman of the UN Committee against Torture, which implements the UN Convention against Torture, where he assisted the Chairman and his staff with preparations for the Committee’s 53rd Session in Geneva, Switzerland.

Terence graduated magna cum laude from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University with his J.D. and from the American University, Washington College of Law with his LL.M in Law & Government, specializing in National Security Law and Administrative Law. Terence holds a B.A. from Cleveland State University where he was a University Scholar in History and a Certificate in Identity Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2013, Terence worked in the Chambers of the Hon. James S. Gwin of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, assisting in criminal, civil, and 6th and 9th Circuit appellate dockets. Terence has published several works of legal scholarship in the areas of cybersecurity, international, and national security law and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Cleveland State Law Review from 2013-2014. Terence sits on the National Advisory Board for the Cleveland State University Center for Cybersecurity and Data Privacy and is an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University. He lives in Michigan with his wife and golden retriever. In his spare time, Terence splits his time between his Peloton, camping/hiking, softball, attending baseball games, repairing classic cars, board games, and traveling— hopefully to somewhere with a beach.