Karina Ordonez

Karina Ordóñez was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in both Malaga, Spain and Phoenix, Arizona.  She graduated with her J.D. from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, after receiving her Masters in Homeland Defense and Security from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. She currently focuses on Immigration Law, Criminal Law, Personal Injury law, and Central Registry Defense.

Ms. Ordóñez gained valuable experience in criminal law through her externship with the Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph B. Heilman, where she provided extensive legal research and writing for a second-degree murder case and various civil matters. Since practicing, Ms. Ordóñez has represented clients in both State and Federal courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Ordóñez also participated in the Arizona State University, Post-Relief Conviction Clinic and the Arizona Justice Project where she worked on various DNA cases to exonerate wrongfully convicted defendants. Prior to her legal career, she was the Assistant Director for Strategic Policy for the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. In this capacity, she was the primary advisor to the deputy director in matters pertaining to national policy, lead the 2006 and 2007 State Homeland Security Federal Grant Applications receiving 20 million dollars and 51 million dollars respectively, ensured compliance with both state and federal laws. In addition, she also served as the state agency liaison by building, managing, and reporting the yearly Homeland Security budget for 25 state agencies.

Ms. Ordóñez also provided crisis communications by coordinated and lead logistics for press conferences, news releases, and media availability. Special projects in her portfolio include developing the State Homeland Security Strategy and the State Infrastructure Protection Plan. Her previous responsibilities as Southwest Border Specialist (2003-2005) included serving on various bi-national committees and implementing agreements between Arizona and Sonora, Mexico which focused on border security and first responder preparedness. She developed and implemented official procedures for bi-national coordinated efforts during a disaster (prevention, protection, response, and recovery).

Ms. Ordóñez worked for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and provided state lobbying efforts regarding predatory lending, contingency fees, budget, and non-participating tobacco manufacturers’ sales tax with a 100% success rate. At the Arizona State Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts, Ms. Ordóñez externed and provided lobbying efforts for the Interstate Compact, Judge Pro-Temp, and abolished adoption fees.

Ms. Ordóñez is passionate about helping the next generation by guiding them towards an ethical and just legal career. Recently (2020-2022) she devotes her time to mentoring ASU Law Students through the Immigraiton Law Clinic as a Supervising Attorney and the ASU Law 3L Residency Externs Program

In addition, Ms Ordóñez is a proud mother and enjoys spending time with loved ones. She has had the opportunity to travel all over the globe and learn about different cultures. Ms. Ordóñez is bilingual in both Spanish and English.