Kathleen M. Kedian

Kathleen Kedian is a Visiting Associate Professor of Law and National Security, Cybersecurity, and Foreign Relations Law Fellow. Professor Kedian is an expert in national security law, specializing in counterintelligence law and policy and foreign malign influence efforts. Her distinguished career has included government service in senior roles at the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ), Defense (DoD), and Homeland Security (DHS), as well as roles in the private sector. She recently served as Special Counsel to the General Counsel at DoD, and she previously served for 13 years in DOJ’s National Security Division at the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, holding the roles of Section Chief, Principal Deputy Chief, Deputy Special Counsel, Senior Trial Attorney, and Trial Attorney during her DOJ tenure. She has managed many successful, high-profile criminal matters in the areas of espionage, leaks and mishandling of classified information, export control and sanctions, and national security-related cyber crimes. Professor Kedian received numerous awards for her contributions to significant investigations and cases, including the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation, and the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Management or Leadership. Earlier in her career, she served at DHS as Counselor to the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. In the private sector, she has worked both in-house for a major defense contractor and at a large law firm.

Professor Kedian has been a Professorial Lecturer in Law with GW Law since 2018. She teaches Counterintelligence Law & Policy and Disinformation, National Security, & Cybersecurity:  Overview & Legal Approaches. She also has taught a seminar on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

She holds a JD from the College of William & Mary, where she was editor in chief of the law review; an MA from American University; and a BA from James Madison University. She clerked for the Honorable David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.