Elizabeth L. Newman is a partner with Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman, PC, (kcnlaw.com) an employment litigation firm in Washington, DC. Her firm practices exclusively in all aspects of the employment relationship, including security clearance cases, as well as discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, family and medical leave, disabilities, Freedom of Information Act appeals, Privacy Act appeals, and noncompete agreements. She is a graduate of Skidmore College and the Georgetown University Law School. Prior to entering into private practice in 1980, she was a trial attorney with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It was at OPM that she first became involved in security clearance issues when she served as legal advisor to a task force that was revising the Personnel Security Clearance Questionnaire, SF-86. In that capacity, she advised the task force that asking employees about their membership in Communist organizations violated the First Amendment. In her private practice, Ms. Newman has represented numerous individuals throughout the US and abroad in cases before the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals, the military service Central Adjudication Facilities, the Washington Headquarters Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security at the US State Department, and before Personnel Security Appeals Boards throughout the federal government.

Ms. Newman is a panelist at the popular seminar, “How to Represent Your Clients Effectively in Security Clearance Proceedings,” offered annually by the DC Bar. She has also served as Vice Chair of the ABA Administrative Law Section’s National Security Committee, Chair of the DC Bar Practice Management Section, and chairs the Experienced Security Clearance Practitioners Forum.