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Dennis Fitzpatrick

  • Adjunct Professor
  • JD, University of Maine
  • MA, The Catholic University of America
  • BA, George Mason University

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Biographical Sketch

Dennis M. Fitzpatrick is an expert in national security law, counterterrorism, criminal procedure, evidence and federal criminal law. Professor Fitzpatrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia for 18 years, with the last eleven years focused on investigations and trials in the National Security and International Crime Unit.

Professor Fitzpatrick has investigated and prosecuted matters under the Arms Export Control Act, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Espionage Act, and various terrorism statutes. He has traveled to the Middle East several times in furtherance of these objectives. In 2016, The Department of Justice awarded Professor Fitzpatrick with the John Marshall Award for superior trial performance for the Espionage Act prosecution in United States v. Sterling. In 2017, Professor Fitzpatrick was the lead prosecutor in the terrorism trial of United States v. Khweis, the only individual to date to have successfully traveled to ISIS territory, joined the Islamic State, and then be found guilty by a jury after he was captured. Professor Fitzpatrick was awarded with the Department of Justice Director’s Award for superior performance for the Khweis trial.

In 2017, Virginia Lawyers Weekly recognized Professor Fitzpatrick with a Leader in the Law award for his service to Virginia’s legal community. In 2023, Professor Fitzpatrick was awarded an Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for leading the investigation and prosecution of Alexanda Kotey and Elshafee Elshiekh, two ISIS members responsible for abducting, torturing and murdering U.S. and British journalists and humanitarian aid workers in Syria between 2012-2015.

Professor Fitzpatrick is currently a partner at a law firm in Washington, D.C. He also serves as a Senior Legal Advisor to the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. He also serves on the advisory council of the Foley Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the safe return of Americans held hostage or unlawfully detained abroad and promoting journalist safety.