Barry Sax (deceased)
Special Of Counsel
Before his retirement from the Department of Defense after 25 years of Federal service, Judge Sax was an Administrative Judge for the Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals (DOHA). At the beginning of his career at DOHA, he was a Department Counsel (trial attorney) and presented the Government’s case at Industrial Security Clearance hearings. At the request of the Director of DOHA, he also served as Chief of the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), became a trained mediator, served as liaison with ADR offices in other Federal Departments and Agencies, and personally mediated numerous disputes between employees and officials of DoD and other Government agencies. In 1992, this activity ended when he was appointed an Administrative Judge. He then conducted close to 1,000 security clearance adjudication hearings for existing and prospective employees of defense contractors, as authorized by Department of Defense Directive 5220.6. In dozens more cases, he made decisions based solely on the written record.
As Department Counsel, he was responsible for writing appeal briefs on behalf of DOHA and for responding to appeal briefs from unsuccessful applicants. As an Administrative Judge, his decisions were rarely appealed. He also conducted more than 100 personal appearances (hearings with no Department Counsel present) for DoD civilians and military personnel, as authorized by DoD Regulation 5200.2-R. Over the years, Judge Sax analyzed DOHA’s overall decision-making process relating to a number of the Directive’s 13 specific Disqualifying Guidelines, such as Foreign Preference and Foreign Influence.
Upon his retirement, Judge Sax was given the Secretary of Defense Award and Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service and a Certificate signed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, citing Judge Sax for his “25 Years of Distinguished Service.”
As Chief of the Office of ADR, Judge Sax attended summer sessions at Harvard Law School on “Negotiations for Lawyers.” He spoke on ADR, economic crime, and security clearance issues at numerous Federal, state, and defense industry programs, including the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and the National Association of Administrative Judges.
Since retirement, Judge Sax has developed a consulting practice for contractors seeking to improve their security clearance application system. Judge Sax explains how to improve existing systems for obtaining renewed or upgraded clearances for existing employees and for new clearances for prospective hires for classified positions. Security managers are taught the real world consequences of incomplete and problematic applications. He also explains how negative information can be mitigated, if possible, at the earliest possible moment in the process.
In addition, individuals wondering about their eligibility can submit draft versions of a security clearance application to Judge Sax. He will evaluate the security-related information contained in the application and prepare informal advisory letters explaining the likelihood of success and possible mitigation for specific types of disqualifying conduct.
Judge Sax began his legal career as (1) a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney (1968-1979), mostly as a Major Fraud Specialist; (2) Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Medi-Cal (Medicaid) Fraud Control Unit Office in Los Angeles (on loan from the LA County District Attorney). He received a joint Distinguished Service Award; and (3) Senior Attorney, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1979-1983). He received an Outstanding Achievement Award.
Judge Sax received his B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from UCLA in 1964 and his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley in 1967.
Judge Sax is a member of the California and District of Columbia Bars, as well as the United States Supreme Court and various Federal Circuit and District Courts.
[We are saddened to announce that Barry passed away in July 2014. He will be missed]
Mark S. Zaid, P.C. 