2025 Annual Conference Updates

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Registration for NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference will open Monday, August 4! Watch your emails for registration information including a link to register for the conference and a link to reserve a room in the conference hotel – The Willard – to take advantage of NAFUSA’s lower block rate. It will also include information about signing up to play golf on Wednesday morning, October 8 at the Army Navy Country Club across the river in Arlington. Registration information, including links, will also be available on the NAFUSA website, NAFUSA.org, early next week.

There are 28 slots available for golf on Wednesday morning. The fee charged includes transportation to and from the course. Golf at the Army Navy Country Club is exclusive to members and their guests so this is a very special opportunity (thanks to NAFUSA president, Donna Bucella). If you’re interested, I suggest that you register for the conference as soon as possible and sign up for golf at the same time you do since spots are limited.

Dates and times to add to your calendars:

The NAFUSA opening reception, sponsored again this year by our generous sponsor Guidepost, will be Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. It will be hosted by King & Spalding LLP on the penthouse floor of their Washington, D.C. offices located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., a short walk from the conference hotel.

Class dinners will be Thursday, October 9 at 6:00 at restaurants tbd. Watch your newsletter for names of class members organizing the dinners. If you’re interested in being part of the planning, let us know.

September 15 is the last day to reserve a room at the Willard at the special block rate. If you want to extend your stay before or after the conference dates, you will be able to do so at the negotiated rate if rooms are available.

We look forward to seeing you and your spouse/guest at the conference! Please contact me or Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty if you have questions or difficulty registering.

Bobby Christine Named U.S. Judge Advocate General

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NAFUSA member Bobby Christine has been named the Judge Advocate General of the
United States Army. As such, he is the senior uniformed lawyer in the United States Army serving as a legal advisor to the military branch and representing its personnel in legal matters. He is a Major General in the Army National Guard and was called up to military service in February of this year, maintaining his role as a district attorney for Columbia Judicial Circuit, Evans, Georgia. President Trump nominated Christine for the U.S. Judge Advocate General post on June 19 and, upon confirmation by the Senate, he assumed the office on July 1, 2025.

Christine served as the United States Attorney for the Sorthern District of Georgia from
November 2017 to February 2021. He was previously an Assistant District Attorney in
Augusta, Georgia; a former magistrate judge in Columbia County, Georgia; and partner at the law firm of Christine and Evans, LLC. On February 1, 2024, Christine was promoted to the two-star rank of major general, making him the first reserve component officer in the JAG Corps to achieve this rank since the Corps’ inception in 1775.

New NAFUSA Members in June

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NAFUSA welcomed two new lifetime members in June 2025. E. Martin Estrada served as
the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California (CDCA) from September 2022 to
January 2025. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School. After clerking for a
U.S. District Court Judge and then for a 9th Circuit appellate judge, he served as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney in the CDCA from 2007 to 2014 before leaving for private practice.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney post in 2025, he returned to private practice as a partner with Munger Tolles & Olson in their Los Angeles office handling complex litigation.

Vanessa Waldref served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Washington (EDWA) from 2021 to 2025, the first woman to hold this position. She is a
native of Spokane, Washington and received her Bachelor of Arts degree and JD from
Georgetown University. Following several years in private practice, she served as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2013 to 2020 in EDWA and as a trial attorney in the DOJ’s
Environment and Natural Resources Division. While U.S. Attorney she chaired the AGAC’s
subcommittee on Environmental Justice & Environmental Issues. She is currently a partner
and founding member of Singleton Schreiber’s Washington office.

Additionally, Zachary Myers, former U.S Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, joined
NAFUSA in June. Prior to being nominated by President Biden for the U.S. Attorney post in 2021, he served in that office and in the District of Maryland as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for more than a decade. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he served as chair of the AGAC’s Subcommittee on Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property. Myers, who earned his law degree from Georgetown University, was in private practice at Baker & Daniels in
Indianapolis before starting his career with the Department of Justice. In 2025 he joined
McCarter & English in Indianapolis as partner.

Natalie K. Wight, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, also joined NAFUSA in
June. She served there as U.S. Attorney from September 2022 until February 2025. Earlier
in her career she was an attorney with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for five years before
joining the Northern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office as an AUSA in 2008. In 2012 she joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in Oregon where she served until being named U.S. Attorney there. She is currently the Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Re-entry Center in Portland, Oregon.

Bradford Award Winners for 2025

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NAFUSA will present the 2025 Bradford Award to this year’s winners at the annual
conference in Washington, DC on October 10. The award, named in honor of former U.S.
Attorney J. Michael Bradford, recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding
performance in handling an investigation and prosecution, or series of prosecutions, that
have had a significant impact and merit special recognition. NAFUSA annually solicits
nominations from current U.S. Attorneys of AUSAs in their offices whose work merits this
recognition.

This year, a committee from NAFUSA’s Board of Directors selected two AUSAs from the
many impressive nominations submitted. The winners, Margaret (“Maggie”) Lynaugh and
Brandon Thompson, are from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New
York (SDNY). Maggie and Brandon were nominated for the award in large measure for their
joint prosecution of five individuals who used a Bronx daycare as a front for their fentanyl
trafficking business, resulting in the poisoning of four children under two years old and,
tragically, one infant’s death. These outstanding AUSAs have also brought significant
prosecutions against fake online pharmacy schemes with victims in all 50 states and a
groundbreaking case with the Food and Drug Administration, including a first-of-its-kind
prosecution of a defendant selling counterfeit Ozempic medication through social media
platforms.

Maggie Lynaugh has been an AUSA in the SDNY since 2021. During that time, she has
served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, illicit finance and money laundering and
securities units. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, she clerked for U.S. District
Court Judge Barbara S. Jones in the SDNY. She also worked in private practice for over ten years, primarily focusing on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Maggie is a
graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School

Brandon Thompson joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY in 2022 and has served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, complex frauds and cybercrime units. Prior to joining the DOJ, he clerked for First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey R. Howard and also for U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods III in the SDNY. Brandon also worked in private practice for two years focusing primarily on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Brandon is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School

Congratulations and honorable mention to the following outstanding nominees:

Chauncey Bratt

Middle District of Florida

 

Andrew Grogan

Northern District of Florida

 

Kaitlin Teresa Farrell

Eastern District of New York

 

Robert W. Schumacher

Eastern District of New York

 

Danielle Bateman

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

 

Elizabeth C. Warren

District of South Carolina

 

Thomas J. Hanlon

Eastern District of Washington

 

2025 Conference Preview

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In addition to having the beautiful and historic Willard Hotel in Washington DC as our
conference venue for 2025, the program promises to be both interesting and relevant for
conference attendees. Once again, we are honored to have incredibly impressive and
experienced speakers as our conference guests.

As a few examples, included in this year’s conference will be a panel of experts led by
NAFUSA board member Scott Schools, Chief Compliance Officer at OpenAI. The panel,
entitled “Every Conference Has to Have an AI Session -This is it!” will discuss AI policy,
copyright issues and AI in the legal profession. The panel will Include Ben Rossen,
Associate General Counsel and Head of Policy Legal at OpenAI; Danny Tobey, Chair of DLA Piper’s AI and Data Analytics Practice, a successful software founder, and medical doctor; and Sy Damie, Partner and Vice Chair of Artificial Intelligence Practice, Latham & Watkins.

This year’s Supreme Court Review will be a panel including Jessica Amunson and Adam
Unikowsky, both Harvard Law graduates and partners at Jenner and Block, LLP in its
Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, which Ms. Amunson co-chairs. She was featured in a Harvard Law Today article in 2023 titled, “What’s it like to argue in front of the Supreme
Court?”Mr. Unikowsky was a judicial law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Conner Eldridge, NAFUSA board member, founding partner of Eldridge Brooks, and
Chairman & CEO, Riverside Bank, Little Rock, Arkansas, will moderate a timely (and most
likely very lively) panel discussion on the legal and practical impact of changes to the rules
governing college sports rules, “Show Me the Money: The Current and Ever-changing
Landscape of Collegiate Athletics, the NIL and Thoughts on Justice in College Sports.”

Keep watching the NAFUSA newsletter and website for more information. Hope to see you at The Willard in October!

Death of Judge Patrick NeMoyer

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Former NAFUSA member Patrick H. NeMoyer passed away on May 17, 2025, at his home in Orchard Park, New York, after a long illness. He was 72. During his long legal career, he served as Erie County Attorney, and a state appeals judge with the 4th Appellate Division in Rochester, New York, in addition to serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. He was nominated by President Clinton in 1993 and, after Senate confirmation, went on to serve as U.S. Attorney until 1997, when he stepped down to run for a seat on the State Supreme Court (Appellate Court). He presided over a wide range of cases there for the next 26 years. He was named Western New York Judge of the Year by the State Trial Lawyers Association in 2006.

Those who knew Judge NeMoyer remarked on his incredible intellect. He was a member of the Mensa Society. His wife of 47 years, Elyse, commented, “He loved the law. He was a very cerebral guy who enjoyed the intellectual challenges presented by the law.” She went on to say that he even enjoyed the boring parts of the law. He also loved politics and was active in Democratic Party politics before he became a judge. While U.S. Attorney, Judge NeMoyer was proud of the role his office and the Buffalo FBI office played in the investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of Timothy McVeigh, a western New York native, for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City terrorist bombing. NAFUSA member Denise O’Donnell, who was First Assistant under NeMoyer and who later succeeded him when he stepped down to become a judge, remembers Judge NeMoyer as “…an extremely kind and decent man that you could go to for good, solid advice.”

In addition to his wife, Judge NeMoyer leaves four daughters, Erin, Caitlin, Amanda and
Rachel and four grandchildren. A flag was flown over the Department of Justice in his
honor.

NAFUSA Welcomes New Members in May

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Gerard Karam, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, has joined
NAFUSA as a lifetime member. He served as U.S. Attorney from 2022-2025 after being
nominated by then President Biden. Prior to his appointment he served as General Counsel to the Housing Authority of Lackawanna County, PA and as Chief Public Defender for that county. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney, he joined the law firm Stevens & Lee as a shareholder where he co-chairs the firm’s White Collar Group.

Chris Kavanagh, also joined NAFUSA in May. He served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA) from 2021 to 2025. Prior to being appointed U.S. Attorney, he served as an AUSA from 2007 to 2014 in the D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office and from 2014 to 2021 in the WDVA. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney, he joined Cleary Gottlieb in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Americas Litigation Group. Since 2011 he has also been an adjunct professor at the UVA Law School.

West Virginia native William Thompson is now a member of NAFUSA. He served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2021 to 2025. Prior to being named U.S. Attorney, he was a Circuit Court Judge in West Virginia’s 25th Judicial District, a position to which he was first appointed in 2007 and elected, then reelected in 2008 and 2016. In May 2025, he joined Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC as Counsel. In addition to his legal work, he serves as Dean of Students at the Appalachian School of Law and is a visiting professor there.

NAFUSA Welcomes New Members in April 2025

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Please welcome the following new NAFUSA members:

Michael Easley, Jr. served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina from November 2021 until February 2025. He is currently a partner at McGuire Woods in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jonathan Scott Ross was appointed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama in May 2024 after serving as an AUSA in that office for ten years in positions including Senior Litigation Counsel, First Assistant and Acting U.S. Attorney. He resigned in August 2024 to enter private practice and is currently a shareholder with Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham.

Alamdar S. Hamdani served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas from December 2022 until January 2025 after being nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During his tenure he served on the AGAC and chaired the AGAC’s Border and Immigration Subcommittee. He is currently a partner at Bracewell in Houston, Texas.

Stephanie Hinds served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from March 2021 to March 2023. She was appointed by then Attorney General Garland as Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys in in October 2024 and served there until February 2025.

Rebecca Lutzko served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio from June 2023 until January 2025, first as Court appointed and then as the Senate confirmed nominee of President Biden.

Andrew Luger served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota under President Obama from February 2014 until March 2017 and returned to that position under President Biden serving from March 202 until January 2025. After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the second time, he returned to Jones Day as a partner in the firm’s Minneapolis office.

Trina A. Higgins served as the United States Attorney for the District of Utah from May 2022 until February 2025. She is the first woman to hold that position. After leaving office, she joined the Salt Lake City office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as Of Counsel for litigation and appellate practices.

Dena King was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina on November 29, 2021. She served in that position until February 2025. She is
currently a partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Joshua (Josh) Levy served as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from May 2023 until January 2025. Following his resignation, he rejoined the firm of Ropes & Gray in its litigation and enforcement practice.

Sandra Hairston was sworn in as United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina in November 2021 after having previously served as Acting U.S. Attorney for that district. She served as U.S. Attorney until January 2025.

Leigha Simonton served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from December 2022 until January 2025. She is currently a member at Dykema Gossett
PLLC in Dallas, Texas.

NAFUSA Board of Directors Meets in Nashville

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The NAFUSA Board of Directors met the first weekend in April in Nashville, Tennessee.
Great city! It was the first in-person meeting for the class of 2027 directors elected in the
general membership meeting in September in Oklahoma City. Either in-person or virtually, all but one of our directors was able to attend this meeting.

In addition to financial reporting, organization business and membership updates covered in the meeting, the board voted on the Bradford Award Committee’s recommendation for the 2025 recipient of this prestigious award. There was also spirited discussion of issues of general concern and issues impacting our non-partisan association. The conference committee reported on plans for this year’s conference and panel leaders were appointed for the CLE program areas to be presented at the conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC in October. If you are interested in being a part of the conference planning, please let me or Lisa know or contact any of the NAFUSA officers or directors.

Additionally, there was discussion of recommendations for new directors which will be
presented to the membership for voting in October at the 2025 annual conference.
NAFUSA Directors play an important role in the operation of the organization. They are
instrumental in planning and presenting relevant, timely and interesting programs for our annual conferences, in recruiting sponsors, promoting the organization and seeking new members. It’s not all work, however. Our mid-year meetings are a great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy the camaraderie and spirit of our shared experiences in interesting and fun locations. Please let us know if you are considering serving on our Board of Directors in the future. It’s a great opportunity to connect with other former U.S. Attorneys and take an active role in NAFUSA.