Nygina Mills
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
Associate General Counsel, Financial Law and Lender Oversight | Counsel | Senior Advisor
Washington, US
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
THE MARQUE
In Their Own Right
Biography
Nygina Mills is a highly regarded legal and governance professional with experience in the aerospace, defense and financial services sectors and expertise in regulations, contracts and compliance. Throughout her career, she has held a wide range of leadership, board and committee roles and has been recognized with many professional and academic honors and awards.
Nygina has served in numerous leadership positions, including Associate General Counsel, Financial Law at SBA where among many responsibilities, she led the legal oversight of the $852B loan portfolio and $26B small business investment company venture capital portfolio (SBIC), while interacting with major financial institutions in the US.
Prior to this role, Nygina was Director, Strategic Initiatives Directorate at the US Department of Education. She oversaw all sub-agency strategic initiatives for 1,600 employees with a $70 million annual budget dedicated to administering $120B in annual nationwide loan funds and a total lending portfolio of $1.4T in outstanding loans.
Other senior roles include Associate General Counsel, Contracts at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), where Nygina led US and international legal advisory on contract cost resolutions under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARs), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), M&A, joint ventures and divestitures. Prior, she served as Associate Counsel at the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), where she regulated companies such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. In these roles, Nygina was counterparty to Fortune 100 public company counsel.
Nygina also served as a Partner at private law firms, most recently FisherBroyles, LLP where she specialized in advising clients in contracts, corporate securities, licensing, private equity, M&As, IPOs and private placements. Nygina earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is an alum of Harvard Business School.
The Record
Background
-
2022 — Present
Associate General Counsel, Financial Law and Lender Oversight | Counsel | Senior Advisor
Federal Executive Branch
Among her many responsibilities, Nygina has been responsible for the legal strategic direction of the SBA's $852B loan portfolios and the $26B small business investment company venture capital portfolio (SBIC). As legal counsel to the Office of Investment and Innovation, she advised the SBA on financing capital, research and development grants, and provides legal support to SBIC Program Offices.
-
2020 — 2022
Director | Strategic Initiatives Directorate
United States Department of Education
Nygina oversaw all sub-agency strategic initiatives for the world's 5th largest bank, 1,600 employees with a $68M annual budget dedicated to administering $120B in annual nationwide grant, work-study and loan funds, and a total lending portfolio of $1.4T in outstanding loans. She managed the Idea Lab staff of 30 and $3-4M in annual operating cost for executive initiatives and strategic direction.
-
2017 — 2020
Assistant General Counsel, Contracts
United States Department of Defense | Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
Nygina served as a Top-3 HQ SME attorney in charge of U.S. and international legal advisory at DoD’s Comptroller agency, employing 5k auditing and fiscal professionals located at more than 300 offices across US, Europe, Asia and the Pacific examining annually $300B in costs and producing 5k audit reports each FY on contract cost resolutions under FARs, DFARs, and CAS.
-
2012 — 2017
Associate Counsel, Contracts
Defense Contract Management Agency
Nygina provided legal guidance on federal contracting, cost, pricing and Contracting Officer Final Decisions (COFDs) for DCMA business teams at agency administering annually $300-400B in contract costs, served as Chief Lead Counsel for the Northrop Corporate and Divisional Administrative Contracting Officers, and implemented the full-scale regulation of defense contractors.
-
2010 — 2012
Partner | Private Practice
FisherBroyles, LLP
Nygina served as an executive and founding member within the Commercial & Government Contracts practice, overseeing $10M in billables. She also provided legal support to Morgan Stanley's General Counsel for global business outsourcing, managing derivatives and mortgage-backed securities.
-
2008 — 2010
Partner | Private Practice
Perry Krumsiek & Jack, LLP
As Partner, Nygina’s specialization was in business advisory and representation on corporate and government contract matters in the areas of FAR, DFARs and other laws pertaining to government contracts. Nygina also provided corporate law advisory across emerging AI, digital cloud and database companies in compliance and regulatory matters.
-
2004 — 2008
Trial Attorney
United States Department of Transportation
Nygina informally led a team of 15 employees that provided broad legal advice and representation for the U.S. Department of Transportation, including procurement and contracts matters for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
-
2002 — 2004
Trial Attorney | Office of The Secretary of Defense – General Counsel
United States Department of Defense
Nygina served as a senior trial counsel and legal advisor representing DOD in matters of security clearance approvals and denials under DOD Directive 5220.6. She managed litigation and participated in hearings before DOD administrative law judges (Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals), including witness examination and cross examination, litigation memoranda, legal research and analysis.
-
2000 — 2001
Corporate Attorney | Private Practice
Paul Hastings, LLP
Gained expert knowledge of 1933 and 1934 Securities and Exchange Acts. Filed corporate securities with the SEC including 10Q's, 10K's and 8K's, drafted general corporate documents, i.e. asset/stock purchase and sale agreements, stakeholder agreements and software licensing agreements.
-
1998 — 2000
Corporate Associate Attorney | Private Practice
Nixon, Peabody, LLP
Nygina worked on general corporate and securities matters, including M&As, private placements and IPOs for venture capital firms, internet providers and private equity firms. Development of corporate documents, i.e. software OEMs, licensing, limited liability and shareholder agreements.
-
1994 — 1997
Commercial Litigation Attorney | Private Practice
Crowell & Moring, LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East that advises multinational corporations on regulatory, litigation, corporate, and investigations matters.
-
1997 — 1999
Corporate Attorney | Private Practice
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Nygina specialized in negotiation leadership on transactions, including revolving credit facilities, private placement of securities and asset sale transactions for Fortune 100 banks, tech companies and insurance firms.
In The News
Newsfeed
-
22 January 2026
Artificial Intelligence Law 2026
Read more -
26 February 2025 · Wall Street Journal
Lawyers of Distinction’s 2025 ‘Most Influential Lawyers’ Featured in The Wall Street Journal
Read more -
13 December 2024 · PR Web
Nygina Mills elected as Lawyer of Distinction, Top 1% in US
Read more -
18 September 2024
2024 Aspen Cyber Summit
Read more -
9 May 2024
Interview with Nygina Mills: Innovating Legal, Risk Management and Corporate Governance
Read more -
25 March 2024
ACC Foundation 2024 Cybersecurity Summit
Read more -
4 February 2024 · Tech Conference
Tech Conference: Crossroads - Navigating Uncertainty
Read more -
3 February 2024 · Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference
30th Annual Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference
Read more -
28 October 2023 · Harvard Business School
Building Trust in the Age of AI: Ensuring Responsible Innovation
Read more -
10 October 2023 · The American Bar Association
AI & Robotics 2023
Read more -
23 August 2023 · Stanford AI Symposium
Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance: AI Symposium
Read more -
22 August 2023 · The American Bar Association
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2023
Read more -
10 May 2023 · Harvard Business School
HBS Alumni Conference: Accelerating Climate Solutions
Read more -
28 April 2023 · The George Washington University
GW Business & Policy Forum: Attacking Cybersecurity Risks
Read more -
26 April 2023 · The American Bar Association
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act: Regulating Uncharted Waters
Read more -
1 April 2023 · Private Directors Association
Private Company Governance Summit
Read more -
31 March 2023 · Private Directors Association
The Board and a Cyber Crisis
Read more
Formative Years
Education
-
Occidental College
BA | Comparative Literature
-
The George Washington University Law School
Master of Laws | LLM, Federal Procurement Law
-
Georgetown University Law Center
Master of Laws | LLM, Securities and Financial Regulation & International Business
-
Harvard Business School
Advanced Management Program (AMP)
-
Harvard Law School
Juris Doctor
Areas Of Focus