Author Archives: Rich

Rosenberg Named Acting DEA Administrator

Chuck Rosenberg

The Department of Justice on May 13, 2015, announced the appointment of NAFUSA member Chuck Rosenberg to serve as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“Throughout his distinguished career in law enforcement and public service, Chuck has earned the trust and the praise of his colleagues at every level,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “He has proven himself as an exceptional leader, a skilled problem-solver, and a consummate public servant of unshakeable integrity.  And he has demonstrated, time and again, his deep and unwavering commitment not only to the women and men who secure our nation, but to the fundamental values that animate their service.  As Acting Administrator of the DEA, Chuck will play a vital role in the work of this Administration and this Department of Justice to pursue American priorities, protect American interests, and safeguard our way of life.  I can think of no better individual to lead this storied agency, and I have no doubt that his tenure will be defined by the same commitment to honor and excellence that has guided him throughout his distinguished career.  I congratulate him once again on this well-deserved appointment, and look forward to all that he will achieve in the days ahead.”

A veteran of the Justice Department, Rosenberg served as Chief of Staff to the Director of the FBI prior to his new appointment.  In that role, he worked closely with Director James B. Comey and other senior FBI officials on counterterrorism, intelligence, cyber and criminal investigative issues, including with international, federal, state and local law enforcement partners.  He also worked closely with Director Comey on management, policy and personnel issues.

“Chuck Rosenberg is one of the finest people and public servants I have ever known,” said Director Comey.  “His judgment, intelligence, humility, and passion for the mission will be sorely missed at FBI.  I congratulate our friends at the Drug Enforcement Administration.  This is good for the entire Department of Justice and the country.”

Rosenberg was presidentially appointed and confirmed as the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia, from 2006 through 2008, and appointed by the Attorney General to serve as the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Texas, from 2005 through 2006.

Rosenberg was hired out of law school through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and has served in numerous positions throughout the Department of Justice, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General from 2004 through 2005, Counselor to the Attorney General from 2003 through 2004, Counsel to the Director of the FBI  from 2002 through 2003, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia from 1994 through 2000, and a Trial Attorney for the Tax Division’s Criminal Enforcement Section  from 1990 through 1994.

Rosenberg has also spent time working in private practice as Counsel at Hunton and Williams, from 2000 through 2002, and as a partner at Hogan Lovells US LLP (2008-2013). Rosenberg received his B.A. from Tufts University, his M.P.P. from Harvard University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. Rosenberg assumed the role of Acting Administrator on May 18, 2015.  He replaced Administrator Michele Leonhart, who previously announced her retirement.

Vaira Publishes Article on Protecting Against Cyberattacks on Colleges and Universities

Peter Vaira

NAFUSA member Peter Vaira (ED Pennsylvania 1978-1983) has published an article in The Legal Intelligencer on May 19, 2015, Protecting Against Cyberattacks on Colleges and Universities. Vaira writes that colleges and universities are increasing targets for cybercrime operators.

We are not talking about hackers who want access to prove their skills; the propriety information in certain university departments is valuable on the black market for big money. There is an immense amount of personal information about applicants and students that are supplied every year. Social Security numbers and personal addresses are valuable to people seeking to establish bogus credit cards for purchases of valuable property or for cash advances. There are thousands of research grants at universities that produce new products, drugs and medical devices. The research material from these projects can readily be sold on foreign markets. Many research projects do receive increased protection within the school’s system, although often not enough.

Vaira’s article examines prevention measures to be considered by the universities, colleges and their law firms.

Marianne Jennings To Speak on Ethics at Scottsdale Conference

Marrianne Jennings

The planning has begun for NAFUSA’s annual conference, to be held this year on October 15-17, at The Phoenician in Scottsdale Arizona. President Matt Orwig has announced the first speaker signed for the conference.

Professor Marianne Jennings, an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies in business from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, will speak on Friday morning, October 16, on eithics.. She was named professor of the year in the College of Business in 1981, 1987, 2000, and 2010 and was the recipient of a Burlington Northern teaching excellence award in 1985. She served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at ASU from 1995-1999. From 2006-2007, she served as the faculty director for the MBA Executive Program. She continues to teach graduate courses in business ethics and ethical culture at colleges around the country, and returned to ASU to teach graduate courses in the MBA and MACC masters programs.

Professor Jennings has authored hundreds of articles in academic, professional and trade journals. She was given best article awards by the institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Government Accountants in 2001 and 2004. In 2006, her article, “Ethics and Investment Management: True Reform,” was selected by the United Kingdom’s Emerald Management Review from 15,000 articles in 400 journals as one of the top 50 articles in 2005. She was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders by Trust Across America in 2010. In 2012 she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere magazine.

Currently she has six textbooks and monographs in circulation. The eighth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, and the tenth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment were published in January 2014. Her first textbook, Real Estate Law, will have its 11th edition published in January 2016. Her text, Anderson’s Business and the Legal Environment will have its 23rd edition published in January 2016.

Her book, Business Strategy for the Political Arena, was selected in 1985 by Library Journal as one of its recommended books in business/government relations. A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000, her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Professor Jennings’ book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse is used by auditors in advance detection of fraud and is a primer on corporate culture, including analysis of board efficacy. Her books have been translated into five languages.

She is a contributing editor for the Real Estate Law Journal, New Perspectives, The Smart Manager, and the Corporate Finance Review. She served on the Board of Editors for the Financial Analysts Journal from 2007-2012. She served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Legal Studies Education during 2003-2004.

Her columns have been syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the  New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader’s Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She was given an Arizona Press Club award in 1994 for her work as a feature columnist. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio. She served as chair of the Bonneville International Advisory Board for KHTC/KIDR from 1994-1997 and was a weekly commentator on KGLE during 1998. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.

Professor Jennings earned her undergraduate degree in finance and her J. D. from Brigham Young University. She has done consulting work for law firms, government agencies, businesses and professional groups.

Yang Named To NLJ’s List of Outstanding Women Lawyers

Debra Wong Yang On April 15, 2015, The National Law Journal presented its list of “75 of the most accomplished female attorneys working in the legal profession today.” The Journal said, “These women, selected from hundreds of nominations, represent excellence in private practice, corporate counsel work, public interest representation, legal education and the judiciary.”

Among the 75 is NAFUSA member Debra Wong Yang, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles. She is Co-Chair of the firm’s Crisis Management Practice Group, the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group and the Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Consumer Protection Practice Group. She is a member of the Media and Entertainment and Intellectual Property Practice Groups.

Yang’s practice specializes in corporate crime and compliance. She served as a DOJ-appointed Monitor over an orthopedic manufacturing company with health care compliance and regulatory issues. She has also represented companies and boards in internal investigations, compliance matters, and criminal investigations. In addition, Yang has provided advice on matters relating to FCPA, trade secrets, and cyber/data intrusions. She has overseen teams of attorneys conducting internal investigations and has reviewed compliance programs in a variety of industries. She has also managed matters in the crisis arena relating to recalled products, health care and insurance.

Yang served as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, 2003-2007. Prior to being appointed United States Attorney, Yang was a California state judge. She was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1997, serving for a time as a Supervising Judge, and became a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court bench in 2000.

Yang has been an adjunct professor at the USC School of Law and has instructed at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and at California’s Judicial College.

Yang has remained active in the local and legal communities for an extensive time. The Daily Journal named her to the 2014 list of California’s Top 100 lawyers highlighting her role in defending USC in the media followed suit involving an off-campus shooting.  And the April 2015 Global Investigations Review selected her as one of the top 100 women leading investigations around the world. In 2010 she was named by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Federalist Society as Lawyer of the Year. In 2009, she was selected to serve as a Los Angeles Police Commissioner, part of the civilian oversight committee of the Los Angeles Police Department. She has been recognized as a champion of civil rights by both the Los Angeles City Council in 2002 and the Inglewood Superior Court. She was selected by the National Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Influential Minority Attorneys and by the Los Angeles Business Journal for their Who’s Who in Law.

Yang received her Juris Doctorate in 1985 from Boston College Law School and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

 

The Fiske Fellowship at Michigan Law

The Fiske Fellowship was established in 2001 at the University of Michigan Law School by NAFUSA member Robert Fiske, ’55, a senior counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Three-year fellowships are awarded annually to up to four Michigan Law graduates who serve as government lawyers. Fellows receive a $5,000 first-year cash stipend and debt repayment assistance to cover required annual payments for all educational loans, a combination that provides much-needed financial breathing room.

In establishing the fellowship, Fiske hoped to encourage more Michigan Law students and recent graduates to consider government service, despite the lure of larger paychecks in the private sector.

Bob Fiske is shown below in a photo from the Spring 2015 edition of Law Quadrangle, Notes from Michigan Law, with the 2014 Fellows (left to right): Samuel Hall, ’13, Elizabeth Grossman, ’12, Meridith Garry, ’13, and Austin Hakes, ’12.

fiskefellows

McKay & Hyslop Oppose Court Budget Cuts in State of Washington

Mike McKayBill Hyslop

NAFUSA Foundation President Mike McKay (WD of Washington 1989-1993), shown left, and William Hyslop (ED of Washington 1991-1993, and president-elect of the Washington State Bar Association), shown right, have joined the effort in Washington to try to convince the state senate to reconsider its announced budget cuts for the state courts.

In an OpEd in The Seattle Times on April 28, 2015, entitled Budget cuts threaten justice, McKay says,

Though Washington ranks dead last among the 50 states in the percentage of state funding for the courts — our judicial branch receives just two-fifths of 1 percent of the state budget — the state    Senate is now proposing even deeper cuts in the funding of our court system.

 

Hyslop’s OpEd was published in The Spokesman-Review on April 26,2105. In Further court cuts jeopardize system, Hyslop argues,

Lawmakers must balance the budget and provide for many, many services to Washingtonians. As part of that balance, a fair and functioning judicial system is not a luxury. It is a basic tenet of American governance, a right of the people. It protects us from the abuses of all kinds of power and helps the rest of government and society to function.

Continuing to cut court budgets in this manner harms everyone.

 

In a follow up interview, McKay stated:

These cuts are grossly disproportionate to those made for the rest of state government.  The state supreme court recently ordered the legislature to increase its appropriations to public schools, ruling that the decades-long practice of allocating fewer and fewer dollars for public schools has violated our state constitution.  It has been speculated by some that these draconian cuts are calculated to punish the state supreme court for enforcing the constitution.

 

Leone Named Head of Disputes for NY Office of Norton Rose Fulbright

Bill Leone

NAFUSA board member and life member Bill Leone (Colorado 2004-2006) has been named Head of Disputes for the New York office of Norton Rose Fulbright. In addition, he is now the Chairman at the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. Bill served as US Attorney in Colorado and led several high profile, complex white collar investigations including the prosecution of Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio. He is shown above moderating the ethics panel at the NAFUSA Boston conference in 2014.

Norton Rose Fulbright is the 3rd largest law firm in the world following the combination of Norton Rose LLP and Fulbright & Jaworski, with 55 offices around the globe, including North and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. Bill continues to spend time in Denver where he maintains his practice and has led the litigation group for the past four years. Bill’s practice includes investigations in the energy, medical device, health care and technology sectors, as well as a portfolio of white collar cases and civil and criminal trials.

Loretta Lynch Confirmed as AG

The U.S. Senate voted (56-43) today to narrowly confirm Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States. Ten Republicans joined all 44 Democrats, along with two independents, ending the months of waiting. Eric Holder bid farewell to the Department on Friday and Lynch is expected to be sworn in on Monday. Lynch, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, is the first U.S. Attorney to be elevated by a president directly to the position of attorney general since 1817.

Richard Stacy Survives Cancer Scare

Richard Stacy

NAFUSA member Richard Stacy (Wyoming 1981-1994) emerged from a successful surgery early this month which removed a malignant nodule on his right lung. In an opinion published on April 21, 2015 in The Denver Post, Stacy credits a doctor’s decision to order a CT scan of his chest. Read his opinion here,  Colorado Voices: A challenge to managed health care, where he urges that CT scans and other imaging techniques be used as part of routine physicals.