On May 8, 2018, NAFUSA sponsor King & Spalding announced that former Acting Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates has returned to the firm as a partner on the Special Matters & Government Investigations team. Her global practice will be based primarily in Washington, DC and Atlanta. Yates joined NAFUSA in 2017.

Yates, a 27-year veteran of the Department of Justice, rose through the ranks of Assistant United States Attorneys to become U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, Deputy Attorney General, and Acting Attorney General. As Deputy AG from January 2015 through 2017, she served as the second-highest ranking official in the department and was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of DOJ and its 113,000 employees. She oversaw all prosecutorial, litigation and national security components as well as all U.S. Attorneys’ offices and DOJ law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons. She is currently a Distinguished Lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center focused on public policy.

“Sally Yates is a lawyer’s lawyer,” said Robert D. Hays, Jr. chairman of King & Spalding. “Her return continues a longstanding K&S tradition of launching young lawyers into public service and welcoming them back into private practice. Adding Sally is a remarkable development for our firm and our clients.”

While Deputy Attorney General, Yates was responsible for overseeing the Department’s most significant matters and for crafting and implementing initiatives focused on many of DOJ’s strategic priorities, including corporate fraud, cybercrime, gang violence, civil rights and financial crime. Additionally, she led DOJ’s criminal justice reform initiatives during her tenure and implemented substantial prison reform measures.

Prior to assuming her duties as Deputy Attorney General, Yates served for five years as the first female U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. She immediately became a leader in the Department, serving as the vice chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. An accomplished trial lawyer, she prosecuted a wide variety of complex cases, specializing in white collar matters. She tried numerous high-profile public corruption cases, including one against the former mayor of Atlanta, and was lead prosecutor in the case against Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph.

Yates said, “I’m excited to get back to practicing law with the firm where I started my career. Not only was K&S my first legal home, it has an unparalleled tradition of legal excellence, uncompromising ethics, and commitment to civic engagement and public service. I’m looking forward to building upon the firm’s independent investigations practice for public and private organizations and boards, and helping organizational leadership navigate complex and sensitive challenges. And I’m excited to be practicing with such an exceptional group of lawyers and staff who truly work as a team to do the very best legal work.”

Before entering government service, Yates worked as a King & Spalding civil litigation associate from 1986 to 1989. She earned her BA from the University of Georgia and her JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Yates joins NAFUSA board member John Richter at K&S and is the sixth former federal prosecutor to join firm’s Special Matters & Government Investigations team in the past year.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,000 lawyers in 20 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.

Ronald Machen Jr./Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL.

As reported today by The National Law Journal, NAFUSA board member Ronald Machen served as lead counsel for Panasonic Avionics to resolve alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a negotiation that resulted Monday in settlements with the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission totaling $280 million. Panasonic Avionics, a supplier of in-flight entertainment and communications systems, agreed to pay a $137.4 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.

As reported by the NLG, the Justice Department penalty represented a 20 percent discount off the low end of the U.S. sentencing guideline range. Prosecutors said they gave Panasonic the reduction for its cooperation with the investigation and for the steps the company took to address the misconduct, such as replacing several senior executives who were involved in the misconduct.

The company separately agreed to pay $143 million in disgorgement to the SEC. According to the SEC settlement, the company created an “office of compliance and ethics” led by a new chief compliance officer.

The settlement terms also require Panasonic to retain an independent compliance monitor for at least two years and continue cooperating with the Justice Department.

Click here to read the full article from The National Law Journal

Machen served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (2010-2015). He is currently a partner Wilmer Hale.

Patrick Fitzgerald (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

NAFUSA member Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement released Tuesday evening that he is on the legal team representing former FBI Director James Comey. He said he joined the representation in May 2017.

Daniel Richman, a Columbia Law School professor, and NAFUSA member David Kelley, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (2003-2005), are also on Comey’s legal team, according to a Comey associate.

David Kelley

Fitzgerald served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (2001-2012) and is now a partner in Chicago of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom. Kelley is a partner in the New York office of Dechert LLP.

Rudy Giuliani

NAFUSA lifetime member Rudy Giuliani announced on April 19, 2018, that he has joined President Trump’s legal team dealing with the ongoing special counsel probe. “I’m doing it because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller,” Giuliani said in an interview.

Giuliani became the U.S. Associate Attorney General in 1981-1983. He served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1983-1989. He served two consecutive terms as the Mayor of the City of New York from 1994-2001.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced on April 2, that NAFUSA member Greg Brower joined the firm as a shareholder in the Litigation Department. Brower will split his time between the firm’s Nevada and Washington, D.C., offices and will focus on civil and criminal litigation; enforcement, regulatory, and investigative matters; cybersecurity; as well as government affairs at both the federal and state levels.

“Greg’s deep experience as both a first-chair litigator and as a public servant, both in Nevada and in Washington, D.C., will be an outstanding asset to our clients as well as to our colleagues throughout the firm,” said Ellen Schulhofer, the firm’s Las Vegas office managing partner and Executive Committee member. “From high stakes litigation to significant enforcement actions to complex policy matters, Greg’s broad experience as a trial and appellate advocate and as a policymaker and thought leader will contribute in a very significant way to our range of client services.”

Most recently, Greg was the assistant director for congressional affairs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving as the FBI’s chief liaison to Congress on a wide range of critical oversight and investigative matters. He previously served as the FBI’s deputy general counsel, managing a diverse portfolio of legal matters, including litigation, privacy, procurement, compliance and ethics. During his time as a senior FBI executive, spanning two administrations, he worked closely with high-ranking officials in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. intelligence community, and with key leaders on Capitol Hill.

Greg’s prior federal service also includes two years as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, and as general counsel and as inspector general at the U.S. Government Publishing Office. He also previously served in DOJ at Main Justice as legislative counsel in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

At the state level, Greg has served in a variety of public policy roles, including several terms in the Nevada Legislature, where he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has also served on the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee, the Nevada Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice, the Nevada Sentencing Commission and the Nevada Juvenile Justice Commission.

Greg has also served the Nevada legal community as an adjunct professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he has taught courses in national security law and trial advocacy.

He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and The George Washington University Law School. Before attending law school, Greg served in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer

NAFUSA member Sharon Zealey recently joined Cox Enterprises, Inc. as the Vice President, Compliance.  Sharon is responsible for establishing and achieving corporate compliance operational objectives.  She will design and execute the Company’s compliance strategy and training.  Cox Enterprises, Inc. is a leading communications, media and automotive services company with revenues of $20 billion and 55,000 employees. Company divisions include Cox Communications, Cox Media Group, and Cox Automotive.

Sharon previously served as Lead Counsel for Carestream Dental LLC, a medical device company, where she established its global compliance program. Prior to that, she founded NextGen Compliance LLC in Atlanta and was a business consultant on compliance issues and risk assessment.

Sharon was the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for The Coca-Cola Company for seven years.   During her tenure, the company was recognized nationally for its user-friendly hotline, effective global compliance network and corporate integrity.

Sharon served as the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, 1997-2001.

Four new members have been elected to the Stanford Board of Trustees and will begin their posts this April, including NAFUSA member Carol Lam J.D. ’85, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of semiconductor and telecommunications company Qualcomm, Inc.

Lam became the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California after serving San Diego as a Superior Court judge. She worked on cases concerning health care and white collar crime and was instrumental in winning a bribery case against former Congressman Randy Cunningham that linked illegal payoffs to the awarding of arms contracts. Lam served on the board of The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California.

NAFUSA Past President Greg Vega has been named the Chair of the Litigation Department at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek in San Diego. He replaces the retiring Jerry McMahon. “Honored to try to fill the shoes of the finest litigator in San Diego, Jerry McMahon. I’ll do my best to honor his great legacy,” Vega said.

Vega served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California (1999-2001). He began his career as a trial attorney for the Office of Chief General Counsel, Internal Revenue Office in Chicago. He also served as an AUSA in the Northern District of Indiana. In 1987 he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego. He joined Seltzer Caplan in 2001 where his practice focuses on business litigation, white color criminal defense and advising corporate clients in regulated industries.

Arnold & Porter announced on March 19, 2018, that NAFUSA Board Member Paul J. Fishman, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2009 to 2017, has joined the firm as a partner. Mr. Fishman will lead Arnold & Porter’s Crisis Management and Strategic Response team and his practice will include internal investigations, compliance counseling, white collar defense, complex civil litigation, and appellate advocacy. He will be resident in the New York office and Newark, New Jersey.

During much of his service as United States Attorney, Fishman was a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) and also served as its Chair.

Firm Chair Richard M. Alexander said, “Paul is a tireless and talented advocate who will bring strategic vision to the most challenging problems facing our clients. They will greatly benefit from his excellent judgment and deep practical experience managing complex matters. He is an outstanding addition to our firm and we are privileged to welcome him back to private practice after his distinguished career in public service.”

“I am proud to join Arnold & Porter, a firm with a deep commitment to client service and a rich tradition of pro bono representation and civic engagement,” said Fishman. “The firm’s lawyers are an extraordinary group of dedicated, talented, and experienced professionals and I look forward to joining their team.”

In addition to his career in public service, Mr. Fishman was in private practice for 12 years where he handled a broad array of white collar and civil litigation matters, representing institutions and individuals and serving as a corporate monitor. In both government service and private practice, he gained wide-ranging experience across a number of diverse industries such as financial services; healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences; consumer products; manufacturing; transportation; energy; and defense and government contracting. He also has extensive experience as a trial lawyer and appellate advocate.

After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1983 to 1994; during that time, he served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Chief of Narcotics, Chief of the Criminal Division, and First Assistant United States Attorney. From 1994 to 1997, he was a senior adviser to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States.

Fishman was appointed by the ABA President to the American Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission, and served as Co-chair of the Law and Justice Transition Advisory Committee for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. In addition, he was recently elected to the American Law Institute. He earned his JD from Harvard Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and received his BA from Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude. Mr. Fishman holds an honorary law degree from Seton Hall University where he is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow.