Security Clearance & Privacy Attorney
Former Administrative Judge and Acting Chief Judge Responsible for Adjudicating Security Clearance Cases for the U.S. Department of Energy
Few attorneys have spent as much time evaluating security clearance cases from the government’s side of the process as Katie Quintana.
Before joining National Security Law Firm, Katie served as an Administrative Judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals for the U.S. Department of Energy, where she adjudicated security clearance denials, suspensions, and other personnel security matters involving access to classified information and sensitive positions. She later served as Acting Chief Judge of the Personnel Security and Appeals Division, overseeing administrative judges responsible for handling security clearance cases nationwide.
For years, Katie was responsible for evaluating the very issues that now affect many of her clients. She reviewed evidence, assessed credibility, analyzed mitigation, weighed security concerns, and helped determine whether individuals should be granted or retain access to classified information. Her experience provides clients with a rare understanding of how security clearance concerns are evaluated, what evidence decision-makers find persuasive, and where cases are often won or lost.
Prior to her service with the Department of Energy, Katie clerked for two judges on the New Mexico Court of Appeals and built a distinguished career in appellate and administrative law. She brings that same analytical approach to every matter she handles today.
Katie’s experience gives clients a unique advantage because she understands the security clearance process from the perspective of the decision-maker. Having spent years adjudicating and supervising security clearance cases, she understands how government agencies evaluate trustworthiness, credibility, risk, rehabilitation, and mitigation—and how those factors ultimately influence the outcome of a case.
Today, Katie represents service members, federal employees, contractors, applicants, and clearance holders facing security clearance denials, suspensions, revocations, suitability concerns, privacy matters, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) issues. Her insight into the adjudicative process allows her to help clients navigate some of the most complex personnel security matters handled by the federal government.
Jurisdictions Admitted: New Mexico. Represents clients nationwide in federal administrative, security clearance, suitability, privacy, and FOIA matters.
Education: J.D., University of New Mexico School of Law, magna cum laude; B.A., Baylor University, summa cum laude.