Pat Fitzgerald

As pressure grows on Michigan State University for its handling of the Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar case, it was disclosed that NAFUSA member Patrick Fitzgerald had been retained to represent the university. Fitzgerald and his firm, Skadden Arps, were to defend the university in civil lawsuits, facilitate “cooperation” with law enforcement and provide “counseling on any internal reviews conducted to make sure they are carried out in a manner that will best assist the university’s response.”

There was some confusion, as reported in The New York Times 

about whether Fitzgerald was retained to conduct an independent internal investigation or represent the interests of the university. Fitzgerald said on Friday, January 26, 2018, that his team had never been “engaged to produce a public report.”

Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on January 24, 2018, which led to the resignation of University President Lou Anna K. Simon and Athletic Director Mark Hollis. Fitzgerald wrote the state’s attorney general that “While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at M.S.U. knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior.”

On December 12, 2017, NAFUSA member Doug Jones was elected to the United States Senate and today he was officially sworn in as Senator from Alabama.

Tim Heaphy

NAFUSA Board Member Tim Heaphy, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (2009-2014), issued a 207-page report on December 1, 2017, finding the Charlottesville Police Department was “ill-prepared, lacked proper training and devised a flawed plan for responding to the white supremacist rally that rocked the city in August, leading to ‘disastrous results’”, as reported by The Washington Post. 

Heaphy’s law firm, Hunton & Williams, was hired by the City of Charlottesville to conduct an independent review to access the city’s response to three separate white supremacist events in the city earlier this year. The police department received much of the blame, but the report also is critical of the City Council, attorneys from the city and state, the University of Virginia, and the Virginia State Police. The Charlottesville police chief, Al Thomas, resigned today, effective immediately.

Read the full report: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/report-reviewing-protest-related-events-in-charlottesville/2654/

As reported in Law Quadrangle, Notes From Michigan Law:

The 2017 Fiske Fellows had an opportunity to meet their benefactor, Bob Fiske, ’55, HLLD ’97, in Ann Arbor in April. Pictured with Fiske are Fellows (left to right) Andrew Sand, ’15, an assistant general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Danielle Angeli, ’16, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, general crimes unit; Sommer Engels, ’16, an honors attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division, appellate section; and Matt Evans, ‘15, a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division, environmental crimes section. The Fiske Fellowship Program encourages recent graduates to pursue positions as government lawyers. The Fellowship pays both college and law school debt for three years plus a stipend.

Bob served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1976-1980) and is senior counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. This is Bob’s 16th year awarding the Fiske Fellows fellowships. He is a long time member of NAFUSA.

Bob Miller for the New York Times

On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, NAFUSA member Doug Jones was elected to the United States Senate by the voters of the State of Alabama. Doug was in line to be NAFUSA’s president this year, but stepped down to run for the vacancy created when Jeff Sessions left the Senate to become the Attorney General. Doug won a close election over Roy Moore, who has yet to concede. It is unlikely, however, that there will be a recount as Doug’s victory was by more than 20,000 votes. Tuesday was also Doug and Louise’s 25th wedding anniversary. You can see them celebrating above.

See the New York Times profile of Doug: Doug Jones: A Lawyer in the Thick of Alabama’s Big Moments

On December 15, 2017, The Tennessean published an article Doug Jones, Hal  Hardin share a bond of friendship and justice  which discusses how Doug was in line to become president of NAFUSA but stepped down to run for the Senate. Hal Hardin, who took his place to become president of NAFUSA said “I’m so proud of Doug. He is a bridge builder, not a super-partisan person. Obviously it’s bridge builders that our nation needs right now- someone who can work with all kinds of people to find common ground, and work for the good of the country.”

Past NAFUSA Presidents Don Stern, Greg Vega and Rick Deane were joined by NAFUSA member Walter Holton in campaigning for Doug in Alabama this past weekend. Doug acknowledged the support of his U.S. Attorney friends in his acceptance speech.

Rick Deane, Don Stern, Doug Jones, Greg Vega and Walter Holton (December 12, 2017)

NAFUSA member Doug Jones would have been the NAFUSA president today if he had not stepped down last fall to run for the United States Senate to fill the Jeff Sessions vacancy in Alabama. His race against Roy Moore has become the most important election in the country. It will be decided tomorrow. Doug has had a lot of support from a number of his colleagues at NAFUSA. Past NAFUSA Presidents Don Stern and Greg Vega were joined by NAFUSA member Walt Holton campaigning over the weekend in Alabama.

Don Stern, Doug Jones, Greg Vega and Walter Holton in Montgomery, Alabama 12/11/2017

On October 18, 2017, Law Enforcement Leaders hosted the National Law Enforcement Summit on Crime in 2017, bringing together leading police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, and attorneys general from across the country at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

At the Summit, NAFUSA President Hal Hardin was asked to join a panel of prosecutors to discuss how to pursue cases without increasing unnecessary incarceration. Hardin, shown at the far right above, was joined (left to right) by Mark Holden, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Koch Industries, Inc.; Cyrus Vance, New York County District Attorney; Michael Freeman, President of the National District Attorney’s Association and Hennepin County Attorney; and David La Bahn, President and CEO on the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Jenny Durkan at her election night party (Erica Schultz/The Seattle Times

CBS reported this morning that NAFUSA Board Member Jenny Durkan will win the race for Mayor of the City of Seattle. With 60 percent of the votes counted as of Tuesday night, Durkan had more than a 20 point lead in early returns.

Durkan served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington (2009-2014) and will be the first female mayor in Seattle in 91 years.