Sutherland currently serves as the Associate General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he leads the National Protection and Programs Legal Division.

His client, the National Protection and Programs Directorate, is responsible for cybersecurity, telecommunications, biometrics and infrastructure resilience.

His division also negotiates complex technology agreements, advocates the agency's positions in litigation, provides fiscal and administrative law advice to the organization, and responds to audits and investigations.

At the Department of Education, he worked on issues relating to racial discrimination (especially against Arab-Americans) and disability law.

In 2008, President Bush nominated Sutherland to serve as the first Executive Director of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.