Mr. Berry is the founding partner and represents federal employees, government contractors, employers, state employees, federal intelligence agency employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters, private sector employees, in various employment, labor and national security law matters. Mr. Berry’s primary practice areas include security clearance defense, disciplinary action defense, administrative investigation representation, and representation in equal employment opportunity (EEO) claims. For federal employees and government contractors, Mr. Berry represents them nationwide in security clearance appeals and federal disciplinary actions. Mr. Berry frequently defends federal employees in proposed removals, proposed suspensions, and performance matters before their respective agencies; represents federal employees in appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB); represents individuals in Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint matters before respective federal agencies and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and represents federal employees and government contractors in security clearance matters before the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA). In addition, Mr. Berry represents security clearance holders before all federal agencies (DoS, DoD, DoE) and those federal agencies within the Intelligence Community (NRO, NGA, CIA, DIA, NSA). Mr. Berry has represented hundreds of individuals in administrative investigations conducted by agency investigators, inspectors general (IG), internal affairs unit investigators and before the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) of various federal agencies. Mr. Berry also represents private sector, state, county, and municipal employees in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in various types of investigations, county and state grievance procedures, disciplinary actions, whistleblower issues, and equal employment opportunity (EEO) matters. Mr. Berry previously served as the General Counsel to the United States Park Police and United States Capitol Police Federal Labor Unions representing law enforcement officers in disciplinary, wage and security clearance matters. Mr. Berry has also served as counsel for local businesses involving issues related to wage and hour matters, Human Resources Policy development, and employment legal defense. He is a security clearance lawyer and member of the Security Clearance Lawyers Association. Mr. Berry has been interviewed on radio and television networks, like CNN, and written and commented on articles for news organizations such as the Washington Post and others. He has taught continuing education courses for lawyers in his practice areas. He has written several published legal articles on various topics regarding employment and labor law as well as security clearance law. Mr. Berry authors articles for ClearanceJobs. In addition, he previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of the District of Columbia Bar Labor and Employment Law Newsletter and served as a guest speaker for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars on administrative, employment and labor law issues. Mr. Berry frequently provides legal guidance and training to Human Resources personnel of companies, nonprofit entities, and labor unions. In 2009, Mr. Berry was elected by his peers to the D.C. Bar Labor and Employment Law Section’s Steering Committee. The Committee works to advance the professional development and competence of its members by offering educational programs and publications in the substantive law fields of labor and employment law, as well as areas of practice and procedure. Since 2014, Mr. Berry has served as co-author of the firm’s legal articles on RestonNow, and ArlingtonNow. Since 2019, Mr. Berry has co-taught the District of Columbia Bar continuing legal education course on security clearance representation for other lawyers seeking to learn how to effectively represent clients in security clearance cases. Mr. Berry presented a class for the Virginia Continuing Legal Education program on the security clearance process in May of 2021 and a class regarding the MSPB and EEOC in November of 2022.

Ms. Berry is the managing partner and has a wide range of experience in the representation of federal, public, and private sector employees as well as small business organizations. Her practice focuses on employment, retirement, business, and contract law. Ms. Berry specializes in federal employee retirement issues before the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and other federal agencies. In particular, Ms. Berry has represented federal employees in matters involving federal employee retirement issues under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS Offset, and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Many of her retirement matters have involved federal agency retirement errors in connection with the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Correction Act (FERCCA), litigation with OPM and numerous other federal agencies over survivor annuitants’ benefits due to OPM errors and erroneous advice, issues involving former spousal benefits under Court Orders Acceptable for Processing (COAP) or Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO), federal law enforcement officer (LEO) and firefighter (FF) eligibility for special federal retirement benefits, and other federal employment retirement-related issues. Ms. Berry further specializes in the drafting, reviewing, and negotiating of severance, confidentiality/non-disclosure, non-compete, non-solicitation, and various other employment agreements. She also advises on business start-up and creation issues, contract drafting and review, and certain wage and hour issues. This representation includes executives and employees in various professions as well as solo practitioners, small businesses, and large organizations. Ms. Berry has litigated numerous Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) matters on behalf of federal and private sector employees against various federal agencies and private employers involving all types of discrimination and retaliation claims. In addition, Ms. Berry has handled grievance matters before county and federal agencies. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Berry served as Interim General Counsel and a corporate officer of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the largest nonprofit conservation organization in the United States. Ms. Berry has also served as a speaker at Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars and other events, and provided legal training to staff on regulation compliance matters as well as business owners, independent contractors and solo practitioners in contract and business compliance matters. While Ms. Berry was a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, she presented legal seminars as a faculty member on various legal issues of relevance to in-house counsel of business organizations.

Ms. Watkins’ federal practice focuses on cases before various administrative agencies — including the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – as well as security clearance cases before the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA), the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Consolidated Adjudication Services (DCSA CAS), numerous cases before the Intelligence Community and before other federal agencies. In 2022, Ms. Watkins was selected for membership in the Security Clearance Lawyers Association by her peers. Ms. Watkins also advises private sector and municipal employees in the District of Columbia in various types of investigations, grievance procedures, disciplinary actions, whistleblower issues, and equal employment opportunity (EEO) matters. Ms. Watkins also focuses on various administrative matters involving federal law enforcement officers. Ms. Watkins has several years of litigation background and has guided countless clients through depositions and trial proceedings. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Watkins worked as an attorney advisor for the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, the appellate division of the Department of Veterans Affairs, authoring appeals decisions to resolve cases arising from Veterans benefits disputes. During law school, Ms. Watkins worked as a legal intern with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Prisons, providing legal support to DOJ attorneys on a variety of cases involving matters such as correctional law and litigation, civil rights disputes, mental health hearings, and FTCA claims. Prior to her legal training, Ms. Watkins obtained her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University where she double majored in History and Political Science. While attending Wake Forest, Ms. Watkins also participated as a member of the University’s Equestrian Team. Ms. Watkins is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and before federal agencies nationwide.

Providing excellent and informed representation to her clients is the hallmark of Jennifer Porter’s career. For over 25 years, Jennifer has successfully represented hundreds of people who have been injured through no fault of their own; people who were often just in the wrong place at the wrong time but suffered significant or catastrophic injuries as a result. Jennifer believes that people not only need and deserve someone who listens to them and talks the talk of a skilled litigator, but who also has the skill, experience, and background to walk the walk, preparing a successful claim for settlement or for litigation while also providing sound advice, sensitive to the needs of the individual. Jennifer is in the unique position to provide that level of representation to her clients and to maximize recovery for her clients, as a result of her years working as house counsel for Progressive Insurance and also as hired counsel for several of the country’s major insurance carriers, round-tabling defense strategies with insurance adjustors, engaging in defense-oriented training and education courses, and litigating hundreds of bench and jury trials using defense trial tactics. The thing that matters most is helping people navigate tough times with skill and sensitivity, and with a robust practice in personal injury, Jennifer looks forward to new legal challenges each day. Jennifer hails from East Tennessee and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, College of Law – Go Vols! She completed her third year of law school as a visiting student at American University, Washington College of Law and is a 20+ year resident of Virginia. She is a committed member of the Virginia legal community. A long-time member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA), Jennifer has served on the VTLA Women’s Leadership Caucus, VTLA Business Partners Committee, and the VTLA Membership Committee. She is also active with the Fairfax Bar Association (FBA), in which she currently serves as a member of the Circuit Court Committee and the Domestic Relations Sub-Committee. Previously, she was a member of the FBA Young Lawyers Section, serving on the Board of Directors and then as President in 2007/2008, and then in her capacity as immediate past President, she served as a member of the FBA Board of Directors. Jennifer has been recognized as a Super Lawyer and has received the prestigious AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating of her legal ability and professional ethics from the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating system for members of the legal profession and carries an Avvo Rating 10/10, also based on reviews from her peers. Jennifer is licensed to practice in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and California. In addition to her professional career, Jennifer is committed to her local community, having served on the Board of Directors of her neighborhood Swim Club and her neighborhood Civic Association. She is also troop leader to a very active group of middle school and high school aged Girl Scouts. Jennifer is a proud US Navy military spouse and mother to three school-aged daughters, and she can frequently be found at the soccer field, swimming pool or PTA meeting. She is active with the Naval Officer’s Spouse’s Club, the Military Spouse J.D. Network, and the Military Officers Association of America.