Candi Alfred

Candi R. Alfred is Counsel at Goodwin, where she advises clients on complex government, regulatory and contracting matters, with a particular focus on national security, aerospace and defense-related programs. She brings nearly two decades of experience advising senior government leadership on acquisition, fiscal law, ethics, personnel and intellectual property issues across the Department of Defense.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Candi served in senior legal roles within the federal government, most recently as General Counsel of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In that role, she acted as the primary legal advisor to agency leadership, providing guidance across the full range of legal matters affecting DARPA’s advanced research and development mission, including procurement, ethics, fiscal compliance, personnel matters, environmental issues and intellectual property. Candi is admitted to practice in New York only, and her application to the DC bar is pending. She is currently working under the supervision of DC-admitted lawyers at Goodwin. 

Candi began her federal legal career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where she advised on civil works programs and served as ethics counselor, labor counselor and Freedom of Information Act officer. She later served as Assistant Division Counsel for the Corps’ Gulf Region Division in Baghdad, advising on fiscal law, contract formation and administration, military construction, operational law and international law.

She went on to join the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel, where she held a series of increasingly senior roles supporting major defense programs and commands. As a program attorney with the Naval Air Systems Command, Candi advised on multiple aviation weapons systems and platforms, including aircraft protection systems, strategic communications aircraft and tactical fighter aircraft. She later served as Supervisory Attorney supporting the Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, followed by service as Deputy Counsel for the Office of Naval Research.

Throughout her career, Candi has represented federal agencies before administrative tribunals and advised on high-stakes matters involving acquisition strategy, compliance, personnel issues and mission-critical programs.