DC Conference Great Success

October 2, 2013

As the DC conference came to a close last Saturday evening, newly installed President Don Stern told the audience that “he could not promise to beat the effort” of outgoing President Jay Stephens, but he promised to “match it” next year in Boston. In the photo above, Stern is handing Stephens a parting gift for his year of outstanding service: a 150 year old antique spy glass.

Stephens led a conference planning committee consisting of Kent Alexander, Jeff Taylor, Sharon Zealey, Ken Wainstein and Rich Rossman, who put together a well received program, capped by the keyote address by Pete Williams, of NBC, shown above. Other highlights included five outsanding panels: “Navigating the False Claims Act”, “National Security and Surveillance”, “Counter-terrorism, National Security and the Law”, “Criminal Disclosure Ethics” and “Supreme Court Issues.” In addition, all NAFUSA members were invited to spend Friday afternoon at the Department of Justice to meet with DAG Jim Cole, FBI Director Jim Comey, Associate AG Tony West and the leaders of the US Attorney community: Marshall Jarrett, Loretta Lynch and David Margolis. [It was hoped that we would be able to post the photo that DOJ took of the NAFUSA members assembled in the courtyard of Main Justice, but the shutdown has made the photographer unavailable.] A full list of the conference speakers can be found on the NAFUSA website under the link for “conferences.”

Among the highlights of the conference were the Friday night “reunion” dinners. Bill Lutz was able to obtain an invitation from Justice Alito, who served as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, to have the Reagan-Bush I US Attorneys dine at the Supreme Court. The Justice is shown above with Jay and Julie Stephens. Below is a photo of the entire US Attorney group with the Justice.

The Carter alums also held an alumni dinner and invited former Attorney Genral Ben Civiletti and his wife. In addition, Ninth Circuit Judge Mike Hawkins, who flew in just for Friday night, attended, as did Marti Robinson, wife of the late Jim Robinson. The Carter group graciously invited some of the more senior members who, although not Carter US Attorneys, had no other class reunions to attend. The Carter group and friends are shown below.

Donald K. Stern, shown below, was elected to serve as NAFUSA president until the next conference in Boston on Columbus Day weekend, October 9-11, 2014, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. The new slate of officers elected were: President Elect Matt Orwig, Vice President Greg Vega, Secretary Bart Daniel, Treasurer Doug Jones and Immediate Past President Jay Stephens.

The board members elected to serve a three year term were Alice Martin, Catherine Hanaway, Kevin O’Connor, Hal Hardin and Bob Cleary. Zach Carter was elected to fill a vacancy in the class of 2014 caused by Doug Jones moving into the chairs.

In addition to the 2014 conference being held in Boston, the 2015 conference will be in Scotsdale and the 2016 conference in San Diego.

NAFUSA retained a professional photographer to depict the events of the conference, and many photos will soon be posted on the website along with photos from past conferences.

Finally a word about our sponsors. NAFUSA raised $97,500 in sponsor contribuitons this year, by far a new record. A full list can be found on this page. The conference would not have been possible without this support. Our sponsors deserve a “shout out” as well as our business!

Morgenthau and Fiske Honored By New York Law Journal

October 2, 2013

NAFUSA members Robert Morgenthau and Robert Fiske have been chosen by the New York Law Journal to be among the 16 outstanding lawyers to receive its Lifetime Achievment Award to be awarded on November 4, 2013. The 16 men and women chosen were deemed to represent those “who over the course of their varied careers have made a profound impact on the law and New York’s legal community.”

Morgenthau, shown left, who was honored by NAFUSA in 2010 upon his retirement as the Manhattan district attorney from 1975 to 2009, served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 1961-1970. He is the only active member of NAFUSA from the Kennedy Administration. In a letter to Morgenthau dated September 24, 2013, Robert C. Post, Dean of the Yale Law School, said:

…To say that you have had a profound impact on the law and on the legal community on New York is to understate the case. You have been the spine of law enforcement in the nation’s greatest city. You have pursued justice and the rule of law without regard to the affluence or power of your targets, whether they were mafia dons, state senators, or local slumlords. You have continuously transformed the processes of law enforcement to meet modern challenges establishing sex-crime and consumer-affairs units, tackling internal police corruption, and adding bilingual staff so that more New Yorkers could have access to justice. You have been a mentor to generations of lawyers, many of whom have themselves become judges. Throughout you have been a model of probity, honor, and effectiveness. You have exemplified the law at its best, and for this we all deeply in your debt….

Robert B. Fiske Jr., shown left, served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1976-1980, and served as the chair of the AGAC. He was also the first Whitewater Independent Counsel, appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno. Fiske has been recognized as a leading lawyer in several legal industry publications. He was named “New York Bet-the Company Litigator of the Year for both 2009 and 2010)” by Best Lawyers. He is presently a senior counsel at Davis, Polk & Wardwell.

Ed Yarbrough Joins Bone McAllester Norton

September 30, 2013

On August 12, 2013, Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, announced that Ed Yarbrough, shown left, has joined the firm, creating a new division of Criminal Defense and Government Investigations.

“Our new division has been created to serve individuals and corporate clients facing criminal charges, investigations by federal and state authorities, regulatory enforcement actions, internal investigations and compliance audits,” said Charles W. Bone, founder and chairman of Bone McAllester Norton.

Yarbrough is a former United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee appointed by President George W. Bush. He has more than 40 years of experience. He practices criminal defense and government investigations, personal injury law and litigation and dispute resolution.

Yarbrough has tried more than 150 jury cases to verdict, including more than 40 homicide cases. He has served as both prosecuting attorney and defense attorney in matters involving white collar crime, wrongful death, personal injury, public corruption and a variety of criminal charges at the state and federal levels.

A former infantry lieutenant in the United Sates Army, Yarbrough’s desire to be on the front lines has served him well in his civil and criminal law practice. He has been recognized on numerous listings among the nation’s top lawyers, like SuperLawyers and Best Lawyers in America. He has been elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and received the first Criminal Justice Section Service Award from the Tennessee Bar Association in 2011.

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 35 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Its attorneys focus on 16 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among their practices, they represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Pete Williams To Keynote DC Conference

September 16, 2013

Pete Williams will give the keynote address on September 28, 2013 at the JW Marriott Washington. Williams is an NBC News correspondent based in Washington. He has been covering the Justice Department and the U.S. Supreme Court since March 1993.

Prior to joining NBC, Williams served as a press official on Capitol Hill for many years. In 1986 he joined the Washington staff of then Congressman Dick Cheney as press secretary and a legislative assistant. In 1989, when Cheney was named assistant secretary of defense, Williams was appointed assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. While in that position, Williams was named Government Communicator of the Year in 1991 by the National Association of Government Communicators.

A native of Casper, Wyoming and a graduate of Stanford University, Williams was a reporter and news director at KTWO-TV and Radio in Casper from 1974 to 1985. Working with the Radio-Television News Directors Association, for which he served as a member of its board of directors, he successfully lobbied the Wyoming Supreme Court to permit broadcast coverage of its proceedings and twice sued Wyoming judges over pre-trial exclusion of reporters from the courtroom. For these efforts, he received a First Amendment Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Williams will also moderate the panel of the Supreme Court to be held on Saturday morning. The panel will feature NAFUSA member Ted Olson and prominent Supreme Court practioneer, Carter Phillips.

Chuck Stevens Rejoins Gibson Dunn

September 15, 2013

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced on September 13, 2013, that NAFUSA member Charles J. Stevens has returned to the firm in its San Francisco office as a partner. Stevens, a former Gibson Dunn partner, joins more than 40 former Justice Department lawyers at the firm, including NAFUSA members Ted Olson and Debra Yang.

Stevens will practice in the areas of government and internal investigations, compliance reviews, and white collar defense with focus on antitrust, health care fraud, False Claims Act (FCA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and procurement fraud, as well as related complex civil litigation alleging fraud, unfair competition and unfair business practices.

Stevens began his career as an associate with Gibson Dunn’s Los Angeles office. He then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Public Corruption and Government Contract Fraud Unit in the Central District of California in Los Angeles. He returned to Gibson Dunn and became a partner in 1990.

In 1993, he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California by President Clinton. Then 35 years old, he was one of the youngest U.S. Attorneys in the country. In this role, he oversaw the district’s two offices and 150 employees and created and supervised the implementation of multiple initiatives, including affirmative civil enforcement of the False Claims Act, civil rights, health care fraud and political corruption. During his tenure, he was appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

Following his service as U.S. Attorney, Stevens and NAFUSA member George O’Connell founded the boutique litigation firm, Stevens, O’Connell & Jacobs LLP, which focused on government and internal investigations. He spend the last year as a mediator with JAMS, one of NAFUSA’s 2013 sponsors, focusing on matters involving government claims, such as the False Claims Act and teaching a mediation course U.C. Davis Law School. He has also taught classes in government investigations and professional responsibility. He is a 1982 graduate of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he served as Senior Note and Comment Editor of the California Law Review.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is a leading international law firm. Consistently ranking among the world’s top law firms in industry in industry surveys and major publications with 1,100 lawyers and 18 offices.

Catherine Hanaway Joins Husch Blackwell

September 5, 2013

NAFUSA member Catherine Hanaway has joined, effective September 3, 2013, the St. Louis office of Husch Blackwell. She will lead the firm’s Government Compliance and Investigations team. Hanaway served as the first female Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives (2003-2005) and as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri (2005-2009) before returning to private practice with the Ashcroft Law Firm. She earned her J.D. from The Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America (1990) and began her legal career at the law firm Peper, Martin, Jensen, Maichel & Hetlage, a predecessor firm to Husch Blackwell.

On how she feels about her move, Hanaway said,

When I left Peper Martin 20 years ago, the firm had about 100 attorneys in four offices. Now, Husch Blackwell has offices in 16 U.S. cities, including three newly added locations in Texas, and an exciting strategic direction and industry focus. The firm’s focus on clients and deep immersion into their industries, their worlds and their issues is compelling, and I’m thrilled to join the team at this exciting time.

Husch Blackwell LLP is a full-service litigation and business law firm with attorneys in locations across the United States and in London, serving clients with domestic and international operations. They represent national and global leaders in major industries that include agribusiness, food and beverage, energy, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, real estate, construction, manufacturing, technology and transportation.

Michael Bosworth Named Bradford Award Winner

September 2, 2013

Each year, NAFUSA recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding performance through the J. Michael Bradford Memorial Award. The award is named after J. Michael Bradford, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas from 1994 to 2001. Bradford, who died in 2003, had a distinguished career in public service, including successfully defending the government against lawsuits stemming from the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian’s compound in Waco, Texas. NAFUSA annually solicits nominations from current U.S. Attorneys for the Bradford Award. Typically, the recipient has handled a significant investigation and prosecution or series of prosecutions that has had a significant impact and merits special recognition.

Once again, a number of exceptional nominations were made by U.S. Attorneys around the country. The Michael Bradford Award Committee was chaired by NAFUSA Vice President Matt Orwig. Its members included Ed Dowd, Hal Hardin, Karen Hewitt, Paul Coggins, Joe Whitley and Rich Rossman. This year, the Board voted to give the award to Michael Bosworth.

Bosworth, shown above, is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and was nominated by his U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara. Bosworth currently is the co-chief of the Complex Frauds Unit in the SDNY. In that role, he oversees the Office’s criminal prosecutions of financial fraud, cybercrime, tax fraud, health care fraud, intellectual property crimes, and FCPA violations, among other white collar crimes. Prior to his current assignment, he served as deputy chief of the Public Corruption Unit, where he successfully prosecuted former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, former New York State Senator Carl Kruger, and financial advisor Kenneth Starr. Mr. Bosworth clerked for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. He graduated Princeton University summa cum laude in 2000 and graduated Yale Law School in 2003.

Bosworth supervises a team of senior AUSAs who handle the most complex cases in the SDNY. Perhaps his most notable case in the past year was the case against prominent hackers in the “Anonymous” case. He also handled the overseas tax evasion initiative of the office which led to the indictment and conviction of Wegelin & Co., Switzerland’s oldest bank, for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to conceal more than $1.2 billion kept in Swiss bank accounts. He was also the driving force behind numerous financial fraud cases including the prosecution of of the massive $1 billion fraud in which employees of the Long Island Rail Road retired early and falsely claimed to be disabled; a $100 million fraud in which brokers defrauded insurance companies into issuing stranger-owned life insurance policies; and a $66 million mortgage fraud that resulted in the convictions of five corrupt attorneys.

Preet Bharara told the Bradford Award committee that Bosworth “is a mentor to others in the office.” He sees Bosworth as a practical thinker with a “great sense of humor.” In addition to his work in the office, Bosworth volunteers on weekends and nights on a suicide hotline.

Bosworth will be presented with the Bradford Award on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at NAFUSA’s conference in Washington.

The Board considered many other outstanding nominations made by U.S. Attorneys. In recognition for the exceptional work performed by these other assistant U.S. attorneys, NAFUSA will award a plaque to each AUSA, which will be presented by the U.S. Attorney in their respective office, along with in some cases a member of NAFUSA from that district.

The other nominees were:

Michael K. Atkinson, nominated by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., District of Columbia, for his work in connection with his prosecution of Operation Five Aces, a $1 billion domestic bribery/federal contracting case.
Aloke S. Charkravarty, nominated by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, District of Massachusetts for his work in high profile national security cases and outreach to Arab, Sikh and Muslim communities.
Randal A. Sengel, nominated by the Western District of Oklahoma for a lifetime of achievement, including service on the Nichols prosecution team.
Elizabeth S. Tonkin, nominated by United States Attorney William C. Killian, Eastern District of Tennessee, for her work in settling the Hill-Rom case, a $41.8 million settlement with one of the nation’s largest suppliers of durable medical equipment.
Nichole A. Engisch, nominated by United States Attorney B. Todd Jones, District of Minnesota, for her work in prosecuting two of the largest corporate fraud cases in Minnesota history.
Deborah A. Griffin, nominated by the Southern District of Alabama for her work in prosecuting a conspiracy involving eBay and black market sales of stolen and fraudulently-obtained electronics.
Sheldon N. Light, nominated by United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, Eastern District of Michigan, for his work in prosecuting public corruption and white collar cases.
Brian D. Pugh, nominated by United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden, District of Nevada, for his prosecution of major mortgage fraud cases.
Robert H. Norman, nominated by the Northern District of Mississippi for his his prosecution of a series of prosecutions of judicial bribery cases, including Richard Scruggs.
John L. Walker, nominated by United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley, Western District of Louisiana, for his work in prosecuting the Dreamboard Child Exploitation cases, resulting in 46 convictions.
John J. Durham, nominated by United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York, for his prosecution of members of the notorious street gang, La Mara Salvatrucha (“MS-13”).
Barbara Bearnson, nominated by United States Attorney David B. Barlow, District of Utah, for her work in prosecution of sexual and physical abuse cases.

Tom Maroney Injured in Fall

September 1, 2013

NAFUSA board member Tom Maroney will be unable to attend the September conference in Washington. Tom fell on August 16 at his home in Syracuse and fractured his neck. His wife, Mary Kay, reports that he “got up Friday evening and in a sleepy state walked down our upstairs hall in the dark, turning towards the stairs. He fell the full length of the stairs and fractured and dislocated the cervical vertebrae (C5 and C6). He was transported by ambulance to our trauma center where he had emergency surgery both Sunday and Tuesday to repair the damage. Due to the nature of the injury he is very fortunate to be alive and have some movement in his arms and legs. The doctors are calling it a miracle as his injury to the spine and spinal cord usually result in paraplegia or death. The past week has been a very rocky rollercoaster with intubation, resuscitation, surgery, and overall fragile stability…. His brain is as sharp as ever and his greatest frustration is the very constricting neck collar which makes you feel like you are being strangled.”

On August 30, Mary Kay advised that, “Tom continues to make slow but steady progress but we are looking at months of rehab with the goal of full function of his arms and hands. The MDs are very optimistic and have told us they expect ‘full recovery in 6 – 9 months’. Of course this is the goal and Tom is working hard to make that a reality.
Yesterday he was transferred from Upstate University Hospital to the Acute Care Rehab Unit (located at Upstate at Community General Hospital). He is in Rm 424 there. This morning at 7:30 he began physical therapy followed by occupational therapy for about 3 hrs/day. We expect he will remain in the Rehab Unit there for about 2 weeks. Then we hope the next step is home for in-home PT and OT.”

Tom and Mary Kay, shown below at the Atlanta conference, will be missed in Washington, but we will hope and pray for an early and full recovery. If you wish to send a note, his address is: Upstate University Hospital at Community Campus 4E Room 424, 4900 Broad Rd, Syracuse, New York 13215.

Whitley Named Chair of ABA Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section

August 31, 2013

NAFUSA board member Joe Whitley was named chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice (AdLaw) Section at the just concluded ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The section is home to nearly 13,000 lawyers from across the United States. Whitley is a shareholder in the Atlanta and Washington offices of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

As chair of the AdLaw Section, Whitley follows in the footsteps of many notable past chairs, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Cass Sunstein, former Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Obama Administration.

Under Whitley’s leadership, the section will focus on growing its membership, and continuing the programs and publishing that are hallmarks of the section. Whitley also will focus on building regional strength for the AdLaw Section by creating regional sub-committees for up to five regions in the United States. Additionally, a special committee of corporate general counsels will be created to provide feedback and insights to the AdLaw Section Council on the continuing growth of the regulatory state.

The AdLaw Section is made up of lawyers, judges and others involved in all aspects of administrative law and regulatory issues. As the home to lawyers who work for, interact with, or study governmental entities, the section seeks to enhance their professional development, and further the vital public interest in effective, efficient, and fair administration of laws and regulations at all levels of government. It serves these goals through education, dialogue, publications, and proposals for reform.

The mission of the AdLaw Section is to provide professional development opportunities for current and future administrative law practitioners; lend its legal expertise to the resolution of important administrative law issues at the state, national and international levels; provide authoritative and practical analyses and products for the improvement of administrative law and practice; and to provide settings in which government, private, and academic lawyers, and the judiciary can exchange insights and information.

The AdLaw Section has more than 40 committees that monitor and review agency actions, new legislation and case law in areas such as rulemaking, adjudication and judicial review, as well as on more specific subjects such as homeland security, transportation, immigration, energy and environment, and freedom of information

Joe Whitley has had a wide-ranging career in the Department of Justice. In the George H.W. Bush administration, Whitley served as the Acting Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position at Main Justice in the Department of Justice. He was appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush, respectively, to serve as the United States Attorney in the Middle (Macon) and Northern (Atlanta) Federal Districts of Georgia. Throughout his career, Whitley served under five Attorneys General in a number of key operational and policy positions. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in Columbus, Georgia.

In 2003, Whitley was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the first General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the highest ranking legal official at DHS. He held that position for two years working for SecretaryTom Ridge and Secretary Michael Chertoff, before his departure and return to private practice.

Corporate defense and representation of clients in complex civil and criminal enforcement matters brought by the Department of Justice, other federal agencies, State Attorneys General and local prosecutors is the focus of Whitley’s practice at Greenberg Traurig, where he is Chair of the White Collar Practice in Atlanta. He has represented numerous individuals and corporations in major government investigations throughout the United States and internationally on a range of matters that include white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement, corporate internal investigations, U.S. export controls and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance, as well as general corporate compliance, health care fraud and FDA related enforcement matters.

Whitley has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 2001-2013. He was selected by Super Lawyers magazine, andGeorgia Super Lawyers from 2010-2013 and listed as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia” from 2011-2013. Whitley is also listed as one of “Georgia’s Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend magazine, 2008-2012. He was also selected by Super Lawyersmagazine for Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers in 2012.