As jury selection is scheduled to begin today, NAFUSA Immediate Past President Donald Stern, former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, currently with Affiliated Monitors, and Stephanie Roberts Hartung, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, discuss the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They speak with June Grasso on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Law.”
Click here to hear the recording from January 2, 2015.
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken announced on December 29, 2014, the formation of a judicial selection committee to assist them in making a recommendation to the President to fill a vacancy on Minnesota’s federal district court that was created by Chief Judge Michael J. Davis’s decision to assume senior status. Judge Davis sent a letter to President Obama announcing he would retire from regular active service as a United States District Court Judge in August of 2015 and continue to serve as a senior judge.
The Committee is co-chaired by NAFUSA member Thomas Heffelfinger, shown above, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota under Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and current partner at Best & Flanagan, and R. Ann Huntrods, a partner at Briggs and Morgan and former head of that firm’s employment law practice group
NAFUSA President Matt Orwig, shown left, has begun plans for the 2015 conference to be held in Scottsdale, Arizona at The Phoenician on October 15-18, 2015, with a special conference rate of $325 per night. Registration will not begin until July, but mark your calendar now.
The NAFUSA Board and Officers will hold their spring meeting in Nashville May 14-17, 2015, at The Hermitage Hotel. As is the custom, board members will pay their own travel and hotel expense.
President Elect Greg Vega, shown right, has announced that the 2016 NAFUSA conference will be held on October 6-9, 2016, in San Diego at the world famous Hotel Del Coronado with a fabulous conference rate of $295 per night.
NAFUSA begins 2015 with 256 active dues paying members, including 20 senior members and 55 lifetime members. Invoices for 2015 dues will be sent via email in January, with a due date of February 28, 2015. But there is no need to wait. Send your check payable to NAFUSA to Rich Rossman, at the address below. Better yet, join your 55 colleagues who are life members. See a list of lifers on the link at the top of the home page, including Ron Tenpas, the latest to become a life member, having done so on December 31, 2014. Regular dues are $150 per calendar year; $50 for seniors (fully retired and over 70) and $1500 for lifetime.
The NAFUSA Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) tax-deductible entity, continues its drive to raise an additional $1 million reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the murderer(s) of Tom Wales, the Assistant United States Attorney who was murdered on October 11, 2001 at his home, in what is believed to have been a work related assassination. The Foundation has raised $405,000 to date, to supplement the $1 million offered by DOJ. A pledge is only called if someone comes forward with information and the government determines that the person qualifies for payment of the reward funds put up by the government. If payments are ever made, they will be tax-deductible. If you have not made a pledge, and would like to, contact Foundation President Mike McKay, shown left, whose contact information is listed on the member directory on the home page.
In addition, the Foundation has announced it will undertake a second project: funding grants to U.S. Attorney Offices throughout the country to fund projects not normally paid by DOJ but consistent with NAFUSA principles. The NAFUSA board voted to transfer $25,000 of NAFUSA funds to the Foundation as seed money for this important initiative. In addition, the 2015 dues invoices will have a line where you can make a separate tax-deductible contribution to the Foundation for this purpose.
In January we will also begin to solicit 2015 sponsors. Our sponsors are critical to the success of our annual conferences, which would not be possible without their financial assistance. The Board has decided that for 2015, sponsors at the $15K level and above will continue to have an event (such as the Thursday evening reception) named in their honor and receive up to 4 complimentary registrations. Sponsors at the $10K level will also receive up to 4 complimentary registrations. Sponsors at he $5K level will receive two complimentary registrations. As soon as checks are received, sponsor links will be added to the home page and appear in every newsletter for the remainder of the calendar year. Recognition will also be made in all conference materials. Contact Rich Rossman for more details.
NAFUSA member Max Wood, the former United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia (2001-2009), has returned to military active duty for a one year deployment to Pakistan. Wood will serve as the Chief of Staff for the Office of Defense Representative Pakistan (ODRP) from June of 2014 until July of 2015. The ODRP oversees over one Billion dollars of annual military assistance to the Pakistan military. A Colonel in the US Air Force Reserves, Wood is on leave from his position as the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the State of Georgia during this deployment. While United States Attorney, Wood served as the Justice Department Attache at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq from 2005-2006.
President Obama announced on December 22 that Sally Quillian Yates, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, will be nominated to be the Deputy Attorney General. Yates, currently vice chairwoman of the the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, has worked in the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia since 1989, and as U.S. Attorney since her Senate confirmation on March 10, 2010. She is a 1986 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.
Yates would replace Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, who is stepping down in January to take a job in the private sector. The Senate is expected to begin the confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch in the second or third week of January. Holder has said he will remain as attorney general until a nominee is confirmed.
Raytheon Company announced on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, that Jay B. Stephens, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Raytheon, has advised the Company of his intention to retire at the end of March 2015. For more than twelve years, Stephens has served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Raytheon and for the past eight years has also served as Corporate Secretary of the Company. Stephens is a past president of NAFUSA (2012-2013), having led the successful conference in Washington in 2013.
“Jay’s leadership has had a tremendous impact on Raytheon and contributed significantly to our success over the past twelve years,” noted Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon Chairman and CEO. “He has been instrumental in supporting our global business strategy, successfully managing the Company’s risk profile, fostering a culture of compliance and business integrity, and building a collaborative team of professional business partners.”
In advising the Company of his plans to retire, Stephens noted, “During the past twelve years, I have been honored to lead a great team of dedicated professionals, to contribute to the success of our customers, employees, shareholders and business partners, and to serve the critical mission of protecting the national security of America and its allies.”
Before joining Raytheon, Stephens served in a number of positions in both the public and private sectors. He served as Associate Attorney General of the United States, Deputy General Counsel of Honeywell International, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Deputy Counsel to the President of the United States, and as a partner in the Washington office of a national law firm, among other roles. He currently serves on the boards of a number of non-profit educational and professional organizations. Earlier this year, Stephens was named one of America’s top fifty general counsels by the National Law Journal.
Stephens is widely recognized as a strong business partner who has built a team of talented, engaged professionals who champion the Company’s efforts to achieve a reputation for sound corporate governance, corporate responsibility, and regulatory compliance practices.
“Jay Stephens has been a key partner in the successful work of our Board, and he has consistently contributed sound counsel and good judgment,” said Vern Clark, Lead Director of Raytheon’s Board of Directors. “The integrity and credibility of his leadership have been a catalyst in shaping Raytheon’s reputation for exceptional corporate governance and sound business practices.”
NAFUSA’s newest member, Kathryn Keneally, who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice from 2012-2014, joined the New York office of DLA Piper in September as chair of its Civil and Criminal Tax Litigation group.
During her tenure at Justice, Keneally developed a groundbreaking program to redress past wrongdoing by foreign banks, and she worked closely with federal and state regulators on a precedent-setting prosecution of a large financial institution. She also developed and implemented a comprehensive approach to civil and criminal tax enforcement. Attorney General Eric G. Holder recognized her achievements by awarding her the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service to the Department of Justice and the nation, the highest honor that the Attorney General may award to a department employee.
Prior to her service at the Department of Justice, Keneally represented businesses and individuals before the IRS and other government agencies. She has served as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, and chaired two of the Section of Taxation’s Committees – the Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties, which addresses matters relating to civil and criminal tax litigation, and the Committee on the Standards of Tax Practice, which addresses ethics standards for tax practitioners. She is currently a chair of the National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and the National Institute on Tax Controversy.
Keneally earned her LL.M. in Taxation from NYU School of Law, her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, and her B.S. from Cornell University.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law has initiated a flagship initiative to reduce mass incarceration in response to growing concerns among many law enforcement and government leaders that our country’s incarceration rate is too high. As Attorney General Eric Holder has stated, “Too many people go to too many prisons for far too long for no good law enforcement reason.”
Last July, the Brennan Center convened a panel for a discussion on shifting the incentives of federal prosecutors to align with an approach to criminal justice policy that seeks to reduce crime while also reducing the federal prison population. The panel included the following former and current U.S. Attorneys: G. Douglas Jones (NDAL), Chair; Walter C. Holton, Jr. (MDNC); Loretta E. Lynch (EDNY); Zachary Carter (EDNY); Stephen Robinson (CONN); Paul Fishman (NJ); Barry Grissom (KS); Kenneth Polite (EDLA); and Timothy Purdon (ND). The panel also included former Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and former NIJ Director Jeremy Travis. The panel assisted with crafting a report entitled Federal Prosecutions for the 21st Century, unveiled by Attorney General Holder in a September Brennan Center conference.
The attached editorial, Changing the Priorities of a ‘Prison-Happy Country’ was authored by NAFUSA member Walter C. Holton, Jr., shown left, in conjunction with the Brennan Center’s efforts, and published in The Crime Report on November 11, 2014.
Noted Buffalo jurist and NAFUSA member Hon. Salvatore R. Martoche has joined the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) Board of Directors. A longtime New York State Supreme Court justice, the Buffalo native was appointed to a three-year term on the board by Sen. Dean Skelos, Co-Majority Leader of the New York State Senate.
Judge Martoche retired from New York State Supreme Court last year after 13 years, nine of them on the court’s Appellate Division. He is currently senior counsel and leader of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group at Hodgson Russ LLP.
“I have known Judge Martoche for many years. His hard work and dedication has made our community a better place, and I know he will bring that same passion and commitment to the Board of Directors of Roswell Park Cancer Institute,” said State Sen. Patrick Gallivan.
“As a longtime public servant, Judge Martoche has been a devoted leader in the community. His commitment and dedication will further the mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute as a member of its Board of Directors,” said State Sen. Michael H. Ranzenhofer.
Judge Martoche spent several years in public service, much of it at the federal level. Over the years, he served as a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York and as one of the six commissioners of the New York State Commission of Investigation, a statewide panel that investigated allegations of organized crime and public corruption. From 1988-1990, he oversaw U.S. Treasury Department law-enforcement efforts as an assistant secretary. He also served as an assistant secretary of the U.S. Labor Department under President Reagan. During this period of federal service, Judge Martoche played a key role in addressing the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s as acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. He is also credited with spurring several significant reforms within the Federal Witness Protection Program.
Earlier in his career, Judge Martoche, a graduate of Canisius College and the University of North Dakota School of Law, served as a Buffalo public defender. He also spent more than 20 years in private law practice.
Judge Martoche has received numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest distinction given by the Secretary of the Treasury; the Buffalo News’ Outstanding Citizens of the Year distinction; and Canisius College’s LaSalle Medal and Distinguished Alumni Award.
The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1898, RPCI is one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs.
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