Jones Walker LLP announced on January 25, 2022 that NAFUSA member Donald “Don” Washington has returned to the firm as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group on the corporate compliance and white collar defense team in the Lafayette office. Don returns to the firm after serving as the director of the US Marshals Service from 2019 to 2021. Don is a former member of NAFUSA’s board of directors and was the treasurer until his federal appointment.

Speaking about his return, Don said, “While it was an honor to serve our country and lead the US Marshals Service, it is a pleasure to return home to my colleagues at Jones Walker. I look forward to collaborating with our team and being able to use some of my recent experience to enhance the exceptional client service we provide to our clients.”

During his service leading the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency, he developed and established key agency priorities and strategies and oversaw the operations of nearly 5,500 US marshals, deputy marshals, criminal investigators, detention enforcement officers, and administrative staff. He led the storied agency through multiple operations to address the rise in violent crime, the turbulence of civil unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic occurring in the United States and its territories, while protecting the federal judiciary, witnesses, and courts.

Bill Hines, managing partner of Jones Walker, said, “We are very proud of Don’s leadership of the US Marshals Service, and we are pleased to have him as our partner again at Jones Walker. He is a respected member of our law firm and the greater legal industry, and I am certain that his most recent role and past experience in the US Attorney’s Office will bolster our ability to provide excellent client service and train the next generation of Jones Walker litigators and other attorneys.”

Earlier in his career, Don served as US Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana from 2001 to early 2010. As the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Western District of Louisiana, he led federal investigations and trial teams as well as prosecuted cases involving criminal and civil violations of federal law. While with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), he held a number of leadership positions, including on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; the DOJ-sponsored Executive Committee for Federal Prosecutors, State Attorneys General and District Attorneys; and the DOJ’s Terrorism, Controlled Substances, and Native American Issues committees.