Security Clearances

Heurlin Sherlock Panahi regularly represents employees in the greater Tucson area of Southern Arizona in a range of federal security clearance applications and revocation hearings. 

Home to Raytheon Missile Systems, 16% of new jobs in the Tucson region last year were in the aerospace and defense/homeland security industry.  In August of 2009, Tucson was ranked number six in the Top 10 metro areas for aerospace/defense manufacturing by Business Facilities magazine.  These employment opportunities place a premium on employees being able to obtain and hold a security clearance as a condition of their job. 

Having a security clearance is a privilege and a sign of trust.  A security clearance demonstrates that you are willing and able to safeguard information that pertains to national security.  Federal employees, members of the military, government contractors, and certain private sector employees are often required to hold security clearances because their jobs require access to classified documents or secure facilities.

Applying for a security clearance includes an extensive and thorough background investigation, where anything from overseas travel to credit card debt can be taken into consideration.  Even if you have been granted a security clearance, that clearance could be taken away at any time.  Because denial or revocation of a clearance could mean the loss of your job, a security clearance application must be conducted with care and strategy.

Our experienced attorneys regularly assist applicants in all stages of the security clearance application process, including:

• Confidential
• Secret
• Top Secret
• Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (SCI)
• Special Access Program (SAP)

Our lawyers are available to provide counsel throughout the entire application, revocation, and appeal process, such as:

• The SF-86 security clearance application and other pre-clearance requirements
• Preparation for background investigations and formal interviews by Defense Security Services (DSS) or Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
• Evaluation based on adjudicative guidelines
• Responding to the Statement of Reasons ("SOR")
• Requesting a hearing
• Representation at post-denial hearings in front of the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA), Department of Defense, FBI, CIA, and all federal courts and government agencies, including document and witness preparation
• Preparation and representation throughout further appeals

If you are applying for a security clearance, or have recently had your application denied or your clearance revoked, contact the attorneys at Heurlin Sherlock Panahi today.