Lis Young

Lis Young is an Administrative Judge at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA).  Judge Young earned her Juris Doctor degree summa cum laude at the Catholic University of Asuncion, Paraguay, graduating first in her class. She is also a graduate of the George Washington University, with Master's Degrees in Comparative Law (MCL) and in Government Procurement Law (LLM).

Judge Young began her career with the Federal Government in 1991 as Law Clerk Fellow to the Chief Judge and Chairman of the General Services Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA) in Washington, DC. In 1992 she was promoted to Attorney Examiner, weighing evidence and preparing decisions on Contract Disputes Act claims. Judge Young joined the Department of the Navy Office of Counsel (OGC) Naval Information Systems Management Center (NISMC) at the Washington Navy Yard, as Assistant Counsel in 1994. NISMC awarded all Navy contracts for non-tactical automatic data processing (ADP) systems over $100 million.  In those days, ADP procurements were protested to the GSBCA in a frantic 45-day filing-to-decision timeframe. Virtually every award was protested, but Judge Young never lost a protest. She received three letters of commendation for outstanding performance in procurements ranging from $155M to $672M. 

Early in 1996 Judge Young accepted a position at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in Arlington, Virginia. SPAWAR was charged with the procurement of strategic cyber systems, and Judge Young provided legal support to the Submarine Communications code. Judge Young received the SPAWAR Lightning Bolt award in October of 1996 for her work in the Integrated Radio Room System. When the command transferred to San Diego in the fall of 1997, Judge Young joined the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Headquarters (NAVFAC HQ) Office of Counsel in Alexandria, Virginia. At NAVFAC, she worked on public-private venture issues, real estate leases, maintenance and utilities issues, and handled a heavy protest workload. Judge Young never lost a protest, maintaining her record of successful litigation. In June of 1999 Judge Young took a position as Assistant Counsel with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Arlington, Virginia. At ONR, she provided legal advice on contracts, grants and other acquisition vehicles to two Science and Technology Departments: Human Systems, and Ocean, Atmosphere and Space. For her work at ONR Judge Young earned two Superior Service awards.

In December of 2001 Judge Young continued her career with Navy OGC in South East Asia, where she took the position of Counsel, Naval Regional Contracting Center (NRCC) Singapore in the 7^th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR). The 7^th Fleet AOR comprises 56 million square miles, extending from the Date Line to the Strait of Hormuz, and from Japan to Antarctica. NRCC provided contracting support to the Fleet through detachments in Hong Kong, Manila, Jakarta and Sydney, including husbanding services, ship repair, Base Operating Services, support to POW/MIA recovery operations in South East Asia and service contracts for the Navy’s scientific research center in Indonesia. In 2003 NRCC was realigned under Commander Naval Installations (CNI) as Navy Region Singapore and in 2006, the new NAVSUP FISC Yokosuka Detachment Singapore split from the Region. Judge Young, in her multiple hats as Counsel for NRCC, CNI Region Singapore and FISC Det Singapore, received eight Special Act awards and several Letters of Appreciation.

In September 2006 Judge Young accepted a position as Counsel, Sealift Logistics Command Far East (SEALOGFE), also in Singapore, within the Office of Counsel, Military Sealift Command (MSC). SEALOGFE provided sealift support to 7^th Fleet, including replenishments at sea, prepositioning of war materiel, special mission ships (including hospital ships, ocean-charting vessels and ships dedicated to submarine and missile detection) and humanitarian missions in response to natural disasters. Judge Young provided legal services to SEALOGFE and subordinate commands in Korea, Okinawa, Diego Garcia, Yokohama, and Guam. For her outstanding services as Counsel SEALOGFE in Singapore Judge Young received the Navy Civilian Meritorious Award in June 2010. 

In July 2010 Judge Young moved to the Middle East, where she stood up the Office of Counsel for the Sealift Logistics Command Central (SEALOGCENT) in 5^th Fleet AOR. The 5^th Fleet AOR comprises the Arabian Gulf, the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Sea. Her legal practice included admiralty law, international law, peacetime law of Naval Operations, use of force by civilian mariners, labor and contract issues, advice on piracy interdiction, JAGMAN investigations, ethics, fiscal law, environmental, civilian personnel law and ship repair issues. For her outstanding work as MSC Counsel in the Middle East, Judge Young received a second Navy Civilian Meritorious Award in August 2014.

Judge Young returned to Washington, DC in May 2014, joining the Navy Acquisition Integrity Office (AIO) as Associate Counsel. AIO conducts suspension and debarment actions, coordinates litigation with the Department of Justice, and coordinates remedies with other agencies in matters of contractor responsibility. As a senior attorney at AIO, Judge Young often represented the Department of the Navy at the Inter-Agency Suspension and Debarment Committee, and the Department of Defense Procurement Fraud Working Group.

On May 13, 2018, Judge Young was appointed to the ASBCA as Administrative Judge. The ASBCA hears contract dispute cases arising from contracts with the Department of Defense, NASA, CIA and other agencies. The Board also conducts alternative dispute resolution, helping the parties come to informal resolution of contract disputes. 

Judge Young has a passion for teaching. In Singapore, she taught Business Law and Spanish through the University of Maryland Global Program. In Bahrain, she organized the Juris Group at the Bahrain International School, with Navy and Air Force attorneys guiding high school students through the complexity of the legal system, culminating in a mock trial at the end of the year. She also taught remote courses on the U.S. Procurement System at the Catholic University of Asuncion, Paraguay. Back in the United States, she has judged Moot Court competitions at her alma mater George Washington Law (government contracts) and at the American University (appellate procedure). She is also a returning judge at the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which brings together students from over 700 law schools in more than 90 countries. 

Judge Young is admitted to the bars of California, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, and to the Supreme Court of Paraguay. She is fluent in Spanish, French and Italian, and proficient in Portuguese. Judge Young is a Master scuba diver, enthusiast equestrian, and intrepid traveler. She lives in Falls Church, Virginia.