On May 13, 2019, President Trump nominated NAFUSA life member William D. Hyslop to be the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 27, 2019.
Hyslop is a Principal in the Spokane, Washington, office of Lukins & Annis PS, where his practice focuses on complex commercial and business litigation in the State and Federal courts. Hyslop previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington from 1991 to 1993. Hyslop served as president of the Washington State Bar Association and Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Washington. He received his B.A. from Washington State University, his M.P.A. from the University of Washington, and his J.D. from the Gonzaga University School of Law.
Hyslop has received the Washington State Bar Association’s President’s Award, the Spokane County Bar Association’s Professionalism Award, and the Washington State Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award.
Hyslop said, “I’m looking forward to continuing to support our justice system and working with the fine people at the U.S. Department of Justice.”
NAFUSA member Peter Vaira has published an article in The Legal Intelligencer entitled: What Are the Duties of the General Counsel to the Pa. Supreme Court? Pennsylvania recently created a position of counsel to the court and Vaira examined similar practice in several states, including Texas, Missouri, Michigan and Rhode Island. His result is an interesting study of a practice not well known to the average practicing lawyer.
At the May 3, 2019, meeting of the Board of Directors of the NAFUSA Foundation, Ed Dowd was elected to serve as the president. Ed served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri (1993-1999) and the Deputy Special Counsel for the Waco Investigation with Senator John C. Danforth (1999-2000). He is also a past president of NAFUSA. He is currently a partner at Dowd Bennett in St. Louis.
Ed Dowd
The following were elected as officers and directors for 2019-2020: Ed Dowd, President, Ken Wainstein, Vice President, William Lutz, Secretary, Rich Rossman, Treasurer.
The following were elected as Directors for the 2019-2020: Mike McKay, Ed Dowd, Ken Wainstein, Hal Hardin, Terry Flynn, Paul Coggins, Donna Bucella, and Catherine Hanaway.
Mike McKay
The Board thanked and commended Mike McKay, who is stepping down after several years as the President of the NAFUSA Foundation and especially commended him for his leadership in establishing and growing the Wales Fund. Mike has raised $523,000 in pledges towards a reward fund in addition to the $1,000,000 offered by the Department of Justice for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of AUSA Thomas Crane Wales.
The annual Spring NAFUSA board meeting was held in Naples, Florida, on April 6, 2019. President Terry Flynn announced that the annual conference will be held at the Westin St Francis in San Francisco on September 25-27, 2019, and will feature FBI Director (and NAFUSA life member) Chris Wray as the keynote speaker.
Flynn stated that the conference planning committee is working on the program, which will begin with an opening evening reception at the St Francis on Wednesday, September 25, sponsored by Guicepost Solutions. The Thursday and Friday morning CLEs will include a panel on artificial intelligence/technology with Tony West, general counsel & chief legal officer of Uber; a dialogue with EOUSA and the AGAC with James Crowell and Jessie Liu; a presentation on the United States Supreme Court by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky; a presentation by Professor Jennifer Eberhardt on “Unconscious Bias in Law Enforcement”; and an ethics presentation by NAFUSA member Chuck Rosenberg on “The Korematsu Story-Duty of Candor to the Court”. Registration for the conference will open in June.
Ken Wainstein
With the resignation of NAFUSA Treasurer Don Washington, due to his having been sworn in as the Director of the U.S. Marshall Service, the board appointed Ken Wainstein to fill the treasurer vacancy. Wainstein served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, 2004-2006, and as the first Assistant Attorney General for National Security, 2006-2008. During his illustrious career, he has also served as the Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, General Counsel of the FBI, Chief of Staff of the FBI, and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrosim. He is currently a partner in the Washington office of Davis Polk & Wardell.
John Brownlee
The board also selected John Brownlee (WD Virginia 2001-2008) to fill the Wainstein vacancy on the board in the class of 2020. Brownlee is currently a partner at Holland & Knight, where he chairs the firm’s National White Collar Defense and Investigation Team and a member of the firm’s Directors Committee. He served on active duty in the U.S Army in the infantry and in the Judge Advocate General Corps, and is a graduate of the Army’s Airborne and Ranger programs. He recently represented former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell during the investigation, trial and appeal and won a unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating the convictions.
Executive Director Rich Rossman reported that organization is financially sound, mainly thanks to the support of our sponsors. We would not be able to hold our annual conferences without our sponsors. The collection of dues is lagging, however. Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty stated that several members have failed to pay their dues by the February 28 deadline. Reminders have been sent.
President Elect Paul Coggins announced the 2020 conference will be held in New York City on September 30-October 2 at the New York Hilton.
The board enjoyed a social evening at the home of Jay and Julie Stephens (photo above) and a dinner on the beach (photo below). As is our custom, NAFUSA board members paid their own travel and hotel expenses. A good time was had by all.
Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announced on April 8, 2019, that NAFUSA board member Paul Charlton had joined its Phoenix office as a partner in its Litigation and White Collar practices.
Charlton is known as a seasoned trial lawyer who successfully defended corporations and high-net -worth individuals who were the subject of state and federal investigations. A former career prosecutor, he ended his nearly 20 years of public service as Arizona’s United States Attorney. Charlton also works in Native American Law and successfully advocated for Native American tribes and tribal leaders on nationally reported leaders. He is sought-after and often-quoted media commentator on litigation in the news, and, with his wife, owns and operates a cattle ranch. Charlton earned his JD from the University of Arizona, where he was the note and comment editor for the Arizona Law Review, and his BA from there, as well.
Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice is comprised of more than 200 lawyers in the United States, focusing on complex disputes in federal and state courts across the country, as well as before regulatory agencies, administrative bodies and arbitration tribunals. Dentons’ Litigation group has consistently received top rankings in leading trade publications, including The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500 and Chambers USA. Law360 has named Dentons one of its “Top 50 Litigation Powerhouse Firms.” The Daily Report awarded Dentons “Insurance Litigation Department of the Year” in 2017. BTI Consulting named Dentons’ Litigation team to its “Fearsome Foursome” in 2017 and its “Fearsome Five” in 2018, crediting the litigators’ intense approach and fierce strategy on behalf of clients in the competitive legal market. BTI also named Dentons a “Powerhouse” in all eight litigation categories it measured.
Dentons is the world’s largest law firm, delivering quality and value to clients around the globe. Dentons is a leader on the Acritas Global Elite Brand Index, a BTI Client Service 30 Award winner and recognized by prominent business and legal publications for its innovations in client service, including founding Nextlaw Labs and the Nextlaw Global Referral Network. Dentons’ polycentric approach and world-class talent challenge the status quo to advance client interests in the communities in which we live and work. www.dentons.com
In early March, President Trump nominated Jessie Liu, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, to be the associate attorney general. But this week Liu withdrew from consideration for the No. 3 post at Main Justice and Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement: “Today, I am pleased to announce that I am appointing Jessie Liu as chairwoman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys (AGAC). Jessie Liu, an outstanding attorney with broad experience, is widely-respected, within the Department. She currently leads more than 300 prosecutors at our nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. Jessie will be an integral part of our leadership at the Department. We will all benefit from her universally-regarded expertise and dedication to public service. I would also like to thank Richard Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, for his outstanding tenure as chair of the AGAC, and his contributions to the management of the Department. He will remain a key advisor on the committee.”
NAFUSA life member Jeffrey A. Taylor has been hired by Fox Corp. as its chief litigation counsel and executive vice president. Fox announced on Friday, March 22, that Taylor would be in charge of overseeing labor and employment, litigation, content protection and compliance matters for all of Fox’s networks and assets.
At Fox, Taylor will oversee legal matters concerning Fox Network, Fox Sports, FSI, FS2, Fox Deportes, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Television Stations and other holdings, according to the company.
Taylor served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (2006-2009). He also served as counselor to Attorney Generals John D. Ashcroft and Alberto R. Gonzales. He most recently served as the deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer of General Motors. He previously served as vice president and general counsel for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Before that he served as chief executive of Ernst & Young’s Fraud Invesigation and Dispute Practices in the Americas.
Taylor earned his juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School and his bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University.
NAFUSA member and former Attorney General of the United Staes Dick Thornburgh announced his retirement from K&L Gates. Thornburgh began his legal career as an associate with K&L Gates in 1959, going on to hold multiple key roles in the firm’s Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Boston offices at various times in the following decades.
Thornburgh spent a decade with K&L Gates prior to his successful 25-year career in government, leaving the firm in 1969 to serve as a United States Attorney and later, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1978 and again in 1982, during which time he presided over the response to the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, one that is still studied today as a model of crisis management. Thornburgh went on to serve as United States Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. As Attorney General, Thornburgh played a leading role in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He subsequently served as Under Secretary General at the United Nations, and returned to K&L Gates in 1994, remaining with the firm until his retirement.
James Segerdahl, K&L Gates’ Global Managing Partner, commented: “It has been a great and humbling honor to be associated with Dick. Our firm, the Commonwealth, the Nation, and the world have all been beneficiaries of Dick’s high standards, unwavering integrity, and outstanding public service. When not serving in his many and esteemed public roles, we were privileged that Dick spent his time in private practice with only one firm, K&L Gates. Dick has made many outstanding contributions to our firm and clients; we thank him for those as well as his remarkable work as a public servant, and wish Dick all the best in his retirement.”
Thornburgh has received honorary degrees from 32 colleges and universities. For his dedication and contributions to the legal profession, Thornburgh received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2006 from The American Lawyer magazine. He was similarly honored in 2013 by The Legal Intelligencer as being among those who “represent the best the Pennsylvania legal community has to offer” and has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of “ten legendary Washington lawyers who will forever leave their mark on the District’s legal landscape.”
On March 14, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed NAFUSA member Don Washington to be the director of the United States Marshals Service. Washington served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana (2001-2010). He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering and served as an Army captain of the Air Defense Artillery and in the Army Reserve from 1983 to 1987. He has a law degree from South Texas College in Houston. He was sworn in late this week and, unfortunately, his new duties required him to tender his resignation as the treasurer of NAFUSA. The NAFUSA board will select his successor next week at the board’s Spring Board Meeting in Naples, Florida.
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