Practicing law at NATO headquarters

The chapter elucidates how international law and day-to-day legal advice are practiced at the NATO Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and highlights some of the typical challenges the Office faces. It offers a brief rundown of the various understandings of NATO and a clarification of the nature and structure of the NATO International Staff: laying out the advisory, administrative, and support roles it plays and the OLA’s role therein. The main areas of OLA activity are explained, including its mandate and principal areas of legal work: the provision of timely and accurate legal advice on current policy and other issues of concern to NATO Headquarters; engagement on a wide range of policy issues; and provision of leadership, guidance, and coordination on issues of concern to the NATO-wide legal community. The OLA’s day-to-day activities are similar to the activities of lawyers in legal services of other international organizations, with much of its work relating to questions and issues arising out of NATO’s foundational treaties, membership processes, legal status, governance, and external relations. The chapter concludes by contemplating selected challenges inherent in the OLA’s work, clarifying that the body sees itself as an enabler for NATO, its Allies, and partner States in their efforts to accomplish their missions.