Matthew R. Kalayjian brings a distinguished career spanning national security law, federal prosecution, and military service to his work at National Security Law Firm. Most recently an Attorney-Advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Matt conducted legal oversight of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s electronic surveillance activities, ensuring compliance with statutory privacy protections and representing the United States before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. His work included investigating and reporting intelligence collection incidents to the FISC and Congress, and drafting and executing FISA warrants in coordination with the FBI and broader Intelligence Community. This experience gives him a rare, firsthand understanding of the legal frameworks governing national security and intelligence operations.
Matt’s litigation career began as a Navy Judge Advocate, where he built extensive experience in classified litigation, criminal prosecution, and military administrative law. He led classified litigation efforts under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), representing the United States in 10 ex parte hearings and dozens of briefs, and securing court authorization to redact, summarize, and discover classified evidence for defense counsel. As a prosecutor, he secured convictions in 18 criminal cases—including fraud, drug offenses, and assault—through guilty pleas and contested jury trials, while managing a caseload of over 70 misdemeanor and felony matters. He further expanded his prosecutorial experience as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, prosecuting more than 50 federal cases to conviction, from initial appearance through sentencing and probation violation proceedings.
Before beginning his legal career, Matt served five years as a Navy Surface Warfare Officer, leading divisions of up to 30 personnel through high-stress deployments across the Middle East, including transits of the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. He was recognized as the top navigation watch-stander for high-risk maritime operations and managed the top cryptographic keys program in the Atlantic Fleet, earning a perfect biennial inspection, the first in the program’s history. Matt earned his B.A. from Miami University and his J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law. He holds an active TS/SCI clearance and is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and Virginia. His unique combination of intelligence oversight, classified litigation, federal prosecution, and military leadership experience positions him to guide NSLF’s clients through the most complex national security, military, and federal legal matters they face.