Wells C. Bennett is a visiting fellow in National Security Law at the Brookings Institution and special correspondent for Lawfare, a widely-read national security law blog founded by Benjamin Wittes, Jack Goldsmith, and Bobby Chesney. He focuses on legal matters related to the war on terror and national security, including the military commission trials at Guantanamo Bay.

He is the co-author of “Rationalizing Government Collection Authorities: A Proposal for Radical Simplification” (with Benjamin Wittes and Rabea Benhalim); and of “Better Rules for Terrorism Trials,” a chapter in Legislating the War on Terror: An Agenda for Reform(with Robert S. Litt).

Wells received his B.A. from Georgetown University, and a J.D. and an L.L.M. from Duke University School of Law. Immediately before coming to Brookings, he was an Associate at Arnold & Porter LLP. His diverse legal experience comprises, among other things, matters implicating international and U.S. foreign relations law, and appeals and habeas corpus cases. From May 2011 to January 2012, Wells was seconded to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, as part of Arnold & Porter’s Loaned Associate program.

After graduating from law school, Wells served as a law clerk for the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

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