Co-Founder | Partner
Selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for six consecutive years, 2020–2025
Katherine North O’Brien is the co-founder of National Security Law Firm and a driving force behind the firm’s growth, expansion, and long-term strategic direction. She has played a central role in identifying underserved legal markets, developing new practice areas, building the firm’s operational infrastructure, recruiting exceptional professionals, and helping transform NSLF into a nationwide practice serving individuals, service members, federal employees, government contractors, and businesses navigating complex government systems.
Katherine’s career has been defined by her ability to recognize legal problems that traditional firms frequently overlook and build practical, scalable services around them. Her work has helped expand the availability of representation in emerging and highly specialized areas involving federal agencies, administrative proceedings, government credentials, personal reputation, and the long-term consequences of criminal and government records.
Before helping build National Security Law Firm, Katherine founded Katherine O’Brien Law, a nationwide practice focused on criminal-record clearing and other matters in which a past event can continue affecting a person’s employment, professional opportunities, travel, reputation, and future. She also developed services involving trusted-traveler appeals, federal credentialing matters, content removal, and other areas where individuals often struggled to find experienced representation.
Through that work, Katherine gained firsthand experience not only representing clients, but also building the systems necessary to deliver specialized legal services efficiently across jurisdictions. That entrepreneurial experience continues to shape her approach to innovation, client service, practice-area development, and organizational growth at National Security Law Firm.
Earlier in her career, Katherine practiced at a New Jersey law firm, where she represented individuals and businesses in criminal-defense matters, civil litigation, personal-injury and medical-malpractice cases, commercial disputes, and appeals. Her experience advocating for clients facing difficult and consequential legal problems continues to inform her commitment to practical problem-solving, clear communication, and accessible legal representation.
Today, Katherine helps guide the firm’s strategic direction, evaluate emerging legal and market opportunities, develop new practice areas, improve the client experience, and build the infrastructure required to support a growing national legal team. She works closely with the firm’s attorneys, partners, and operational leadership to identify unmet client needs and develop services capable of addressing complicated federal, military, administrative, and reputational problems.
Her approach is straightforward: identify real problems, develop effective solutions, attract exceptional professionals, and build an organization capable of helping clients navigate some of the country’s most complicated government systems.
Academic and Legal Writing Distinctions
Katherine earned her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where she received a merit scholarship and was named to the Dean’s List for multiple semesters.
Based on her outstanding performance in legal research and writing, Katherine was selected to serve as a Legal Writing Honors Fellow. In that role, she assisted the law school’s legal-writing faculty and helped first-year law students develop foundational skills in legal analysis, research, written advocacy, and professional legal communication.
Katherine also received a CALI Excellence for the Future Award, which recognizes the highest-performing student in a law-school course. During law school, Katherine served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Deborah L. Cook of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Ohio University, graduating with honors.
Professional Recognition
Katherine was selected to the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for six consecutive years, from 2020 through 2025. The Rising Stars selection process includes peer nominations and evaluations combined with independent research. No more than 2.5% of eligible attorneys in each state are selected to the Rising Stars list each year.
Katherine was also named to the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Top 10 Under 40 list, 2022 and 2024.
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
Education
- Juris Doctor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Merit Scholarship Recipient; Dean’s List; Legal Writing Honors Fellow; CALI Excellence for the Future Award - Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University, with honors
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the Rising Stars selection methodology is available at SuperLawyers.com
