The current NAFUSA officers and directors met in Washington, D.C. on September
6-7, for their semi-annual Board of Directors meeting. The event was hosted by
King & Spalding, of which NAFUSA President John Richter is a partner, at their
impressive offices on Pennsylvania Avenue. Sixteen directors and staff attended in
person and were treated to amazing views of the Washington Monument from
the penthouse conference room, while several members took advantage of video
conferencing to participate.

The financial report presented by the Executive Director included a summary of
the success of the NAFUSA 2023 conference in Half Moon Bay, California, (HMB)
last April. There were just under 240 registered attendees at the HMB conference,
a record attendance. There was also a record amount of sponsorship money
donated with 30 sponsors contributing a total of $262,500, including a very
generous donation from Guidepost Solutions for the Wednesday night reception.
The feedback about the conference, the programming and the beautiful location
was overwhelmingly positive.

There was considerable discussion of ways to increase NAFUSA membership, both
by recruiting new members from the current administration as they leave office
and by identifying former United States Attorneys who might be receptive to
learning about the many advantages of NAFUSA membership. One of those
advantages is, of course, ability to attend NAFUSA’s annual conferences. In
fact, planning is well underway for the next conference to be held in Oklahoma
City on September 25-27, 2024. As previously reported, the conference will be
held in a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel – the National – which is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. NAFUSA will have the entire hotel for its
conference! A conference committee was formed at the board meeting, and ideas
and suggestions are always welcome.

At the conclusion of the business portion of the meeting, FBI Director, and lifetime
NAFUSA member, Chris Wray joined the group for informal remarks and a lively
question-and-answer session. After joking that it was a pleasure to be invited to
speak to a friendly audience, Director Wray spoke for several minutes about the
challenges facing the men and women of the FBI, as well as the often-under-reported successes that have been achieved. He also talked about FBI successes in
identifying and preventing domestic terrorism, and on the importance and
difficulty in detecting and preventing international cyber-attacks. The FBI has been
increasing its ranks of technology and cyber experts to address this threat.
Director Wray concluded by describing positive developments regarding FISA and
how crucial the information is to counterterrorism efforts. He praised the internal
audit improvements the Bureau has made and added that the FBI is seeing
positive improvement in reporting by state and locals.

Following Director Wray, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram addressed the board
through video conferencing. Her remarks followed up on her presentation at the HMB
conference with the latest developments on the fentanyl epidemic and DEA’s
efforts to stem the alarming tide of fentanyl distribution and related deaths.
Among other efforts, she described new initiatives focused on two cartels who are
laundering money for Chinese fentanyl manufacturers impacted by the limits
placed by the Chinese government on cash leaving China. DEA has set up illicit
financing teams including IRS agents to target this activity. Administrator
described the integration of the Dept of Treasury into the money laundering focus
against fentanyl distribution as a “game changer.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland invited the NAFUSA officers and directors, who
were in Washington, D.C. for the fall board of directors meeting, to the
Department of Justice to meet with him and members of his staff. The AG hosted
the group in his conference room on Wednesday, September 6, preceding the
board meeting on Thursday.

The AG and members of his staff graciously took time to speak individually with
each of the fourteen NAFUSA members and staff present, several of whom were
familiar with AG Garland and/or had worked with him in the past. Later he
addressed the group with brief remarks, giving a nod to the dedicated employees
of the Department of Justice and their commitment to the rule of law during
challenging times. He was complimentary of NAFUSA and the opportunity it
provides for interaction with USAs from different administrations and districts. The
Attorney General also expressed a strong desire to have other opportunities to
engage with NAFUSA members.

Former U.S. Attorney General, and NAFUSA member, Loretta Lynch will lead an
independent review of Northwestern University’s athletic department processes
and culture. Ms. Lynch, who is currently with the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison, will lead the review of the university’s accountability
mechanisms in place to detect, report and respond to potential misconduct in its
athletic department, including hazing, bullying and discrimination. The review will
include feedback from faculty, staff, students and alumni and the results will be
made public, according to Northwestern.

The University has faced criticism over alleged hazing within the football program,
including claims of sexual abuse. Several former players filed lawsuits accusing the
school of negligence. Longtime Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald was
fired three weeks before former Attorney General Lynch was enlisted to lead the
independent review.

Ms. Lynch was appointed as U.S. Attorney General by former President Barack
Obama in 2015 and served until 2017. Prior to that she served as U.S. Attorney for
the Eastern District of New York from 1999 to 2001 under former President Bill
Clinton and from 2010 to 2015 under former President Obama.

Marti Robinson found the attached picture in her husband Jim’s papers and sent it
and the accompanying memo to former NAFUSA Executive Director Rich Rossman.
As many of you remember, former NAFUSA President Jim Robinson died 13 years
ago on August 6, 2010. A Michigan native, he went on to become, among other
prestigious positions, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division from
1998 to 2001.

Although the actual date of the picture is unknown, it is believed to be from an
early NAFUSA conference. (Do you know?) The accompanying cover note to Bill
Gray’s son, Joshua, identifies some of those pictured, including long time NAFUSA
member Attorney General Thornburg and the Robinsons, among others. Bill Gray,
U.S. Attorney for Vermont from 1975-1977 under President Carter, was an early
NAFUSA president.

Many thanks to Marti Robinson and Rich Rossman for sharing this piece of
NAFUSA history.

If you have any early (earlier) photos from NAFUSA gatherings, please consider sharing them with us.

The NAFUSA Foundation board has elected Paul Coggins as the next president. Coggins was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1993 to 2001. During his time as U.S. Attorney, he served twice on the Attorney General’s Advisory Council and in 1998 as its vice chair. He was elected president of NAFUSA in 2019. He is currently the co-head of the White Collar and Government Investigations group at Locke Lord. Coggins, a graduate of Yale University, Harvard Law School, and Oxford University, is a published author, currently at work on his Cash McCahill series of mysteries. Most recently, he was invited to speak at Oxford University on balancing careers in law and writing.

The NAFUSA Board recently designated Coggins and Bill Lutz as directors of the NAFUSA Foundation. They join ex-officio members Chuck Stevens, John Richter and Donna Bucella as directors on the foundation board.

Coggins praised the work of former foundation president, Ed Dowd, and called him a hard act to follow. Dowd served as the foundation president since 2019. Under Dowd’s leadership, the foundation awarded scholarships to unpaid law student interns who have performed outstanding work while interning at U.S. Attorney’s Offices and in the Department of Justice.

NAFUSA members elected King & Spalding LLP partner, John C. Richter, as incoming President during the general membership meeting in Half Moon Bay. The United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma from 2005 to 2009, John succeeds outgoing president Chuck Stevens and will serve through the next conference in the fall of 2024. Chuck will continue to serve on the Board of Directors as Immediate Past President. “I’m honored to serve this great organization,” John stated.” “I look forward to working with my fellow officers and board members as we lead this great organization in continuing to fulfill its mission in promoting and supporting the institution of the United States Attorney.”

John is a trial and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Investigations Practice Group of King & Spalding LLP. He represents and defends companies, Boards of Directors and others facing white collar criminal, civil, and regulatory enforcement matters. He has tried and/or defended criminal and/or civil cases and investigations in more than 15 federal districts, and all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

John served from 2003 to 2005 as Chief of Staff to Assistant Attorney General
Christopher A. Wray. In 2005, John then served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at DOJ, leading almost 500 prosecutors on a range of national security and federal criminal law cases and investigations. While serving as Acting AAG he was a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force and oversaw the Enron Task Force.

In 2005, he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, where he served until 2009, after being nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous Senate consent. While U.S. Attorney, he chaired the AGAC’s Sentencing Subcommittee and served as a member of the AGAC’s White Collar Crime, Native American Issues and Terrorism and National Security Subcommittees.

He has been recognized as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in America by Benchmark Litigation, a “White Collar Defense MVP” by Law360, and a “Life Sciences Star” by LMG Life Sciences.

John began his career as a federal prosecutor as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta and Oklahoma City after serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Cobb County, Georgia. From 1992 to 1994, John served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Owen Forrester, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia. He is a graduate of Emory University and of the University of Virginia School of Law.

John formally assumed the duties of President on Friday night of the Half Moon Bay conference.

Passing of the torch to newly elected president John Richter, left, from outgoing president Chuck Stevens.

Longtime NAFUSA member Donald “Don” Washington was elected Treasurer during the general membership meeting at the Half Moon Bay conference. Don served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana from 2001 to 2010 under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. While U.S. Attorney he served on the AGAC. He later served as the 11th Director of the United States Marshals Service (USMS), overseeing the operations of nearly 5500 USMS employees, under Presidents
Donald Trump and Joe Biden from 2019 to 2021. After leaving the USMS, Don returned to his former law firm, Jones Walker, as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group on the corporate compliance and whitecollar defense team in the Lafayette office.

Don is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and the South Texas College of Law.

Also, NAFUSA members at the annual conference elected a new slate of Directors to serve as the Class of 2026. The new Board of Directors members are:

Deidre Daly, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 2013 to 2017 under Presidents Obama and Trump, is currently a partner and co-chair of Finn Dixon & Herling’s Litigation Practice.

Conner Eldridge served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas from December 2010 to August 2015 under President Obama. He is now a partner at Eldridge Brooks Partners in Fayetteville.

Brendan Johnson served as U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota from 2009 to 2015 under President Obama. He served on the AGAC and as chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee. He is now a partner with Robins Kaplan in Sioux Falls, S.D.

James “Jim” Letten served as U.S. Attorney for more than eleven years in the Eastern District of Louisiana under Presidents George W. Bush and Obama. He is now with Butler Snow.

Paul Perez was appointed by President George W. Bush and served as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2002 to 2007. He is currently with Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

Jeff Taylor, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2006-2009, is currently Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Fox Corporation

The 2023 J. Michael Bradford Award winner is Amanda Strachan, AUSA in charge of the Criminal Division in the District of Massachusetts. Amanda was selected by a committee of NAFUSA board members from over 20 candidates submitted by U.S. Attorneys offices across the nation. The selection committee was extremely impressed by her legal acumen and tenacious handling of the criminal investigation and
prosecution of the New England Compounding Center (NECC), the compounding pharmacy responsible for the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak in which approximately 800 patients were sickened throughout the county and more than 100 patients died. The NECC investigation resulted in a 131-count indictment and led to convictions of 14 owners, executives, and former employees of the company. The
committee was also impressed with the compassionate way she handled the victims and their families.

District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins applauded the selection of Amanda Strachan for the award, “You could not have picked a more deserving lawyer and public servant to recognize… She inspired and empowered a team of AUSAs, legal assistants, victim specialists, and other professionals to do their best work on behalf of the victims in the New England Compounding Center case – and she continues to do that every single day in every case she oversees.”

Amanda’s presentation at the conference clearly reflected her dedication to this case and to finding justice for the victims of the NECC. She led the NECC investigation and prosecution for over a decade, including four trials, securing justice for the victims, and putting a spotlight on abuses in the compounding pharmacy industry.

Amanda joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2007. Prior to that she practiced at WilmerHale LLP where she specialized in white collar criminal defense and internal corporate investigations. She is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Boston University School of Law. She has received two Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Awards and EOUSA’s Director’s Award for Superior Service.

NAFUSA Foundation President Ed Dowd, Bradford Award Winner Amanda Strachan and NAFUSA Secretary Catherine Hanaway

NAFUSA member Dan French will be stepping down in June as Syracuse University’s senior vice president and general counsel after ten years tenure with the university. He will be returning to the full-time private practice of law, rejoining Barclay Damon, working out of the firm’s New York City and Syracuse offices.

French served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York from 1999 to 2001 after being nominated by President Clinton. Prior to that he served in that office as an Assistant United States Attorney for two years. He had previously clerked for a federal district judge and in various positions in the U.S. Senate, including as executive assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

In a statement announcing his departure, French said, “Serving my alma mater as its general counsel for nearly a decade has truly been one of the highest honors of my career. Even though I will miss it, I very much look forward to the next chapter…” French earned his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College at Oswego.