NAFUSA is pleased to announce the 2024 winner of the J. Michael Bradford
Memorial Award – Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) John F. Romano
from the District of New Jersey. John was selected from an outstanding group of nominees from U.S. Attorney offices across the country because of his outstanding advocacy in United States v. Jackson, a case involving two
defendants’ horrifying treatment of three foster children between the ages of
2-months and 4-years old while living at the Picatinny Arsenal and elsewhere.
The jury heard overwhelming evidence of gut-wrenching abuse and neglect
against the three children, causing them life threatening injuries. Despite the
defendants’ grievous conduct, the originally assigned district judge imposed
sentences so lenient that the Solicitor General authorized three affirmative
appeals and two requests for reassignment. AUSA Romano prevailed in all
three appeals, which included two oral arguments, while securing
reassignment to another district judge in the third appeal. He handled three
resentencing hearings before the District Court, two before the originally
assigned district judge and then before the reassigned district judge. Finally,
he successfully moved for summary action to foreclose the defendants from
challenging their convictions on appeal. That motion was granted in January
2024.

After reviewing the nomination submitted by U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger, the NAFUSA Board of Directors found that AUSA Romano’s continuous and
dogged efforts to seek justice for these vulnerable victims exemplifies his
devotion to the mission of the Department of Justice and has voted to award
him the Bradford Award for 2024. The Award will be presented by NAFUSA
Secretary Tim Purdon at the NAFUSA Conference in Oklahoma City on
September 27, 2024, and AUSA Romano will deliver remarks about the
Jackson prosecution which included two long trials, as well as exhausting
pretrial and post-trial proceedings. According to USA Sellinger, for more than
nine years John Romano played a pivotal role in the effort to secure justice for
the victims in this case.

Each of this year’s candidates for the Bradford Award exemplified the high
standards and commitment to justice that the Bradford Award honors. The
decision wasn’t easy. The following AUSAs were nominated by their offices for the award based on their outstanding service to the Department of Justice
and each has received an award from NAFUSA, thanks to the generosity of
former NAFUSA president Ed Dowd:

Audrey B. Hemesath
Eastern District of California

Melanie K. Pierson
Southern District of California

Brian Dunn
District of Colorado

Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis
District of Connecticut

Gregory Rosen
District of Columbia

Rachelle DesVaux Bedke
Middle District of Florida

Ron Timmons
Northern District of Iowa

Christopher M. O’Connor
Western District of Michigan

Michael J. Goldberger
Eastern District of New York

Catherine Mirabile
Eastern District of New York

Lara Pomerantz
Southern District of New York

Robert Yalen
Southern District of New York

Kathryn Risinger
Middle District of Tennessee

Ahmed Safeeullah
Middle District of Tennessee

Ben Schrader
Middle District of Tennessee

Adrian Garcia
Eastern District of Texas

Carmen Castillo Mitchell
Southern District of Texas

Timothy J. Ohms
Eastern District of Washington

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, whether we like it or not, and apparently
it’s here to stay. NAFUSA is very excited to host a panel of experts at our
annual conference in Oklahoma City on how AI impacts legal practice. They
will delve into the ethical and practical uses of generative AI in legal practice
beginning with the question “How are Lawyers using AI today and what will the
near future bring?” Catherine Hanaway, Partner and former Chair of Husch
Blackwell and NAFUSA Vice President, will moderate the panel discussion
which includes the question of whether lawyers actually have an ethical
obligation to use AI and what that obligation looks like.

Panel members include Julie Myers Wood, CEO of Guidepost Solutions
International, a leading investigations, compliance, monitoring and security
firm, and long-time NAFUSA friend and sponsor. She has a particular interest
and expertise in how technology and artificial intelligence is transforming
compliance.

Also on the panel is NAFUSA Board member Jay Town, Vice President and
General Counsel of Gray Analytics, a cybersecurity risk management firm
focusing on challenging technical problems with offices in Huntsville,
Alabama and Los Angeles. Joining them is Justin Helms, the Artificial
Intelligence Solutions Strategist at Husch Blackwell. A licensed attorney, he
helps drive AI technology development and application to transform legal
practice and business operations.

The last panel member is Valerie McConnell, the Senior Director of
CoCounsel Customer Success at Thompson Reuters where she uses her
litigation and computer science background to advise lawyers on how to
leverage artificial intelligence in their practices. She is a frequent speaker on
the application of generative AI to solve problems in legal workflow and we are
thrilled to welcome her and the other panel members.

In addition to the discussion of ethical issues surrounding the use of – or
failure to use – AI, this highly experienced and talented panel will suggest
specific practical uses of AI in legal practice from conducting legal research to responding to discovery requests. We look forward to their presentation on
Friday morning, September 27 in OKC!

The 2024 NAFUSA Conference’s CLE program will open on Thursday morning,
September 26, with a panel of outstanding speakers delving into the high
stakes issues that lawyers and public relations professionals should consider
in high profile litigation and investigations. The topic could not be timelier.
News outlets and social media for the past year – and more – have inundated
the public with accounts of legal entanglements involving public officials,
movie and reality TV stars, and events, often tragic, of wide public interest.
The panel, composed of experienced legal and public relations professionals
highly skilled in dealing with the legal and ethical issues that arise in these
types of cases, will provide a detailed look at these issues and discuss
practical considerations and solutions.

The panel discussion is entitled The Intersection of Law, Ethics, and Public
Relations in High Profile Litigation and Investigations. The speakers are truly
outstanding practitioners in law and public relations fields who have dealt
with the complex legal and ethical issues that arise when public scrutiny is
focused on investigations and litigation. NAFUSA is pleased to have on this
panel two highly regarded public relations experts: Mark Corallo, a political
communications and public relations professional who is the co-founder,
along with Barbara Comstock, of Corallo Comstock, a public relations firm;
and Ellen Moskowitz, senior partner of the Brunswick Group and co-leader of
Brunswick’s global litigation communications and crisis practice.

Additionally, we are honored to have two highly skilled and experienced
attorneys on the panel, both of whom are NAFUSA members: Debra Wong
Yang, a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Los Angeles office and chair of
their Crisis Management Practice Group; and Ronald Machan, partner in
WilmerHale, a member of the firm’s Global Management Committee and
Chair of the firm’s Litigation and Controversy Department. Moderating this
panel of experts is Robert Conrad, former United States Attorney for the
Western District of North Carolina, former District and Senior Judge for the
Western District of North Carolina, and most recently appointed the Director
of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

We are pleased and excited to have this august group lead off the program in
Oklahoma City.

Registration for the 2024 NAFUSA annual conference is now open. The
Conference will be held in the award winning National Hotel in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, from September 25 through September 28.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR 2024 CONFERENCE

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE A HOTEL ROOM

If you have any issues reserving a hotel room please contact Lisa Rafferty at lisarafferty27@gmail.com.

The conference begins early for NAFUSA golfers who sign up to play golf and
for transportation to the Jimmie Austin Golf Course at the University of
Oklahoma Wednesday morning, September 25. The full
conference begins that evening at 6:00 with the opening cocktail/dinner
reception hosted by Guidepost Solutions in the Library of Distilled Spirits at the hotel.

The conference CLE program begins Thursday morning, September 26 after
opening remarks by this year’s president, John Richter and Executive Director,
Wendy Goggin. Following the morning’s programs, there will be a lunch
in the hotel with introductory remarks by former OK Governor and U.S.
Attorney Frank Keating. Conference attendees will be given guided tours of the
OKC National Memorial Museum, the site of the bombing of the Murrah
Federal Building immediately after lunch. On Thursday night, former U.S.
Attorneys and guests from the various presidential administrations will gather
for reunion dinners organized by their class representatives.

After breakfast on Friday, CLE programing continues with outstanding
presentations including representatives from the DOJ, a Supreme Court
review, and a panel on Ethical and Practical Uses of Generative AI in Legal
Practice. The 2024 Bradford Award winner will be introduced and will give a
presentation of his successful – and award winning – prosecutions.

New Directors and Officers nominations will be presented for vote before the
general membership following the morning programs.

The Friday night cocktail reception and dinner will be held in the Vast
restaurant which is at the top of the 50 story Devon Tower in the heart of
downtown OKC. It has been named one of Open Table’s 100 Most Scenic
Restaurants in America. The fabulous view, the outstanding menu and the planned dinner speaker will be a wonderful way to conclude and celebrate this year’s conference.

See you in Oklahoma City!

Massachusetts native John Joseph Sullivan has had a long career in
government service. In 1991 he served as Counselor to Assistant Attorney
General J. Michael Luttig in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal
Counsel. The next year he served as Deputy General Counsel of President
George H.W. Bush’s 1992 re-election campaign. Following several years in
private practice with the Washington D.C. firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw,
where he practiced Supreme Court law and co-chaired the firm’s national
security practice, in 2004 he was appointed Deputy General Counsel of the
U.S. Department of Defense. He later moved to the U.S. Commerce
Department where he served as General Counsel and soon after was
nominated by President Bush to serve as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and
sworn in on March 14, 2008, after senate confirmation.

In 2017 he was confirmed as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State after nomination
by Donald Trump and overwhelming senate support for his confirmation. In
October 2019, Sullivan was nominated and confirmed to be the United States
Ambassador to Russia. Following Trump’s departure, incoming President Joe
Biden asked Sullivan to stay on during his term as president, which he did
until family health issues required his return to the U.S in September 2022.

Ambassador Sullivan was on the diplomatic front lines when Russia invaded
Ukraine. He had been warning it would happen for weeks. When troops
crossed the border, he was awakened in the middle of the night with a
prearranged code that meant he needed to collect his bodyguards and get to
the embassy as soon as possible. It meant that the war had begun.

He has written a memoir about his service titled Midnight in Moscow. In it,
Ambassador Sullivan leads readers into the office of the U.S, Embassy in
Moscow and the halls of the Kremlin during possibly the most dangerous
period since World War II. He describes how the Putin regime repeatedly lied
about its intentions regarding Ukraine while devoting huge numbers of
personnel and vast resources to undermine the U.S. diplomatic mission. He
explains his belief that when Putin gave his order on February 24, 2022, Russia
went not just to war with its neighbor but with the United States and everything it represents. His memoir details how the U.S. relationship with Russia deteriorated, and where it is headed.

During the 2024 NAFUSA annual conference in Oklahoma City, John C.
Richter, NAFUSA’s president, will interview Ambassador Sulivan about his
experience and what the future portends vis-à-vis Russia and Putin.

Attendees at the 2024 NAFUSA annual conference in Oklahoma City will have
the opportunity to play golf with other NAFUSA members and guests at the
historic Jimmie Austin Golf Club on Wednesday morning, September 25.
Registration for one of the available foursome, including roundtrip transportation from the conference hotel, will open along with registration for the conference itself in mid-July.

The Jimmie Austin Golf at the University of Oklahoma has a rich heritage
dating back to the 1940s when the land on which it is situated was a U.S. Navy
recreational center serving as an annex to the Norman Naval Air Station.
Construction began in 1949 on what was to become the University of
Oklahoma golf course, and the course opened for play in 1951. Famous
Oklahoman golf course architect Perry Maxwell was commissioned to build
the project. In 1996 an extensive renovation was completed, led by world –
renowned course architect Robert Cupp.

The Jimmie Austin course hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public
Links Championship and NCAA Regional Championships in 2012, 2018, and
2022 (men’s) and 2013 and 2019 (women’s) and is scheduled to host more
MCAA Regional Championships in 2025.

The beautiful course, with major artery Bishop Creek running through it, has a
terrain of rolling hills, native grasses and trees. For the golfers among the
attendees, it promises to be a great way to start the 2024 Annual NAFUSA
Conference in OKC!

The 2024 NAFUSA annual conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OKC)
begins September 25 with an opening reception in The National Hotel, the
amazing venue for this year’s conference program. Registration for the
conference will begin in early summer and planning is well underway for
another great conference.

One of the many highlights of OKC is the Oklahoma City National Memorial
and Museum, the site of the former Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which
was destroyed in the bombing on April 19, 1995. The brutal act of violence
killed 168 people, seriously injured hundreds more, and changed the lives of
many more forever. The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial was dedicated on April
19, 2000, and the Memorial Museum was dedicated on Presidents’Day
February 19, 2001. The Museum is an interactive learning experience that
takes visitors on self-guided tours through the story of the events of April 19,
1995, and the years that followed. Since its opening, more than 4.4 million
visitors have come to the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial and over 1.6 million to
the Memorial Museum.

The impact of the bombing and mass murder at the Murrah Federal Building
and the investigations and prosecutions that followed are especially felt by
members of the law enforcement community in Oklahoma and across the
country. An estimated 646 people were inside the building when the bomb
exploded, including children at a daycare center. During the course of the
investigation, over 28,000 interviews were conducted, and 3200 kg of
evidence collected. The prosecutions, federal and state, took years. Many
NAFUSA members were involved in the investigation and subsequent trials
and their names memorialized in the museum.

Because of the significance of the events of April 19, 1995, to NAFUSA
members, VIP tours are being arranged with the museum for Thursday
afternoon, September 26, as a part of the OKC conference. The tours will be
guided by museum staff in staggered small groups for all those who wish to
take advantage of the opportunity. More details on this and other program
highlights to come!

Although it’s been barely two months since NAFUSA members enjoyed a successful conference in beautiful Half Moon Bay, California, we are already looking forward to Conference 2024. As previously announced, the Board of Directors voted to return the annual conferences to the fall of the year as was traditional prior to the pandemic. Consequently, the next conference will be held in the fall of 2024. Please mark your calendars for September 25 -27, 2024!

Those who were unable to join us in Half Moon Bay missed the announcement by newly elected president John Richter about the location of NAFUSA’s 2024 annual conference. The next venue became apparent to all when John presented each Board member present, including the newly elected directors, with a ball cap emblazoned “OKC.” NAFUSA will be heading to Oklahoma City in 2024.

Although the conference is many months away, planning is already well underway. We have contracted with a unique and historic hotel, the National, which is in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, within walking distance of great restaurants, conveniently located near desirable OKC destinations, and just ten minutes from Will Rogers International Airport. The National is a Marriott Autograph Collection managed property and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel is located in the First National Center, a 32-story building which originally opened in 1931 as an iconic bank and landmark monument. The National comprises the first eight floors of the historic building and opened in April 2022 catering to business travelers and those interested in historic stays. Be prepared to see original murals and bank vault doors, many shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as the Library of Distilled Spirits located in the building’s famous bank vault.

Stay tuned for more information about the OKC conference in the months ahead.

The setting of the conference hotel for NAFUSA’s 2023 Annual Conference could not have been more beautiful. The Half Moon Bay, California Ritz Carlton is perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean with breath-taking views and brisk ocean breezes. Despite a soggy start to the opening day, the weather cleared up in time for the Opening Reception on Wednesday night and happily remained clear and bright for the rest of the conference. The rain, with a little hail, from the earlier part of the day did not dampen the spirits of the 230 plus attendees.

Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty, Executive Director Wendy Goggin, President Chuck Stevens and his wife Ann.

Guidepost Director Susanne Bratter

Again this year, Guidepost Solutions hosted the Opening Reception. Many thanks to Guidepost and to our other generous sponsors for making this year’s conference a great success! Like the hotel views, the reception was amazing. Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey welcomed NAFUSA to the Northern District of California in his first official public appearance since being sworn in. He did a great job! Conference attendees greeted old friends and met new ones at the three well-stocked bars and feasted at serving stations featuring an abundant assortment of delicious California food. Many of the conference invited speakers and guests joined the attendees at the reception, so NAFUSA members were able to meet and greet, among others, officials from the Department of Justice.

The Opening Reception was an outstanding prelude to the next two days of the conference. Outgoing President Chuck Stevens welcomed conference attendees to Half Moon Bay on Thursday morning and announced that the 239 registered attendance for this year’s conference was the greatest number ever. The program was filled with outstanding speakers, including on the first day a panel of experts providing guidance on representing corporate clients before the DOJ on compliance issues, and a panel comprised of newer NAFUSA members discussing common issues they and their  predecessors faced, and how they built upon the successes of prior administrations.

NAFUSA was honored to welcome DEA Administrator Anne Milgram as our last speaker of the morning. Her remarks were focused around the incredibly frightening increase in the proliferation of fentanyl and the number of deaths associated with it. She brought slides illustrating how fentanyl has been disguised as other “safe” medications and how cartels and gangs have been behind the dramatic rise in addiction to the drug. As one member stated, she scared the pants off of us!

Thursday concluded with the wildly popular “class dinners,” with members from the various administrations represented at the conference heading off to enjoy the night life and restaurants of tiny Half Moon Bay. While nightlife in HMB might be subdued, the reminiscing of hilarious memories and rekindling of old friendships were, as usual, a highlight of the conference.

The Conference Program continued Friday morning with a report by AGAC Chair and USA SDNY, Damian Williams, and EOUSA Principal Director Norman Wong on current trends, challenges, and outlook for the DOJ. Following that, Kannon Shanmugam, a partner at Paul/Weiss gave a Supreme Court Review which was informative, up-to-the minute and (yes!) entertaining. More than one attendee commented on how much they enjoyed and learned from his presentation.

Past NAFUSA president and author in his own rite, Paul Coggins, interviewed another NAFUSA member/author, Kent Alexander, on his successful book: The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man in the Middle. It was a fascinating picture both about how the FBI came to go down the wrong path in its investigation of the bombing and also how the author researched and co-wrote this book.

Following the presentation of the J. Michael Bradford award by NAFUSA Secretary Catherine Hanaway and NAFUSA Foundation President Ed Dowd, to this year’s winner, Amanda Strachan, AUSA in the Distict of Massachusetts, there was a General Membership Meeting and Election of new Officers and Directors.

NAFUSA Vice President Donna Bucella and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco

Certainly, a highlight of this year’s conference was the Cocktail Reception and Dinner on Friday night featuring keynote speaker Lisa Monaco, U.S. Deputy Attorney General (DAG). The ballroom was packed with conference attendees who witnessed the passing of the torch from outgoing NAFUSA president Chuck Stevens to new President John Richter. President-elect Donna Bucella interviewed the DAG ala “fireside chat,” eliciting information about the DAG’s remarkable career rising through the ranks in the
DOJ, memories of her time working with former AG Janet Reno, and some highlights of her time as the current DAG. It was a great ending to a successful conference!