Category Archives: Member News

Greg Scott Joins King & Spalding

King & Spalding announced on June 17, 2021 that McGregor (Greg) Scott, most recently the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California, will join the firm as a partner in the firm’s Special Matters and Government Investigations team. He will be based in San Francisco and Sacramento. Scott is a lifetime member of NAFUSA and a former board member.

Scott was twice nominated by the president and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, from 2001 to 2009 and from 2017 to 2021. As U.S. Attorney, he oversaw federal prosecutions and civil litigation from 34 counties and supervised 100 attorneys. In between those stints, he was a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he vice chaired its White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice Group. An experienced trial lawyer, Scott has represented major companies across multiple industries—including health care, retail and construction—that faced government investigations. He also has deep experience on matters involving consumer protection, construction accidents, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the False Claims Act.

“Greg is a natural leader with exceptional talent and energy,” said Zach Fardon, who leads King & Spalding’s Government Matters practice, which includes the Special Matters and Government Investigations team. “He will be a force multiplier for King & Spalding in his ability to provide clients with representation on both criminal as well as civil/regulatory governmental investigations.” King & Spalding now has nine former United States Attorneys with Scott joining Zach Fardon, John Richter, Craig Carpenito, Rod Rosenstein, John Horn, Sally Yates, Jim Vines and Paul Murphy.

Prior to his federal government post, Scott was twice elected District Attorney of Shasta County, and prior to that was a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa “With a stellar runway of experience and deep connections in the DOJ and California legal community, Greg is well-positioned to further expand our investigations and litigation work on the West Coast, nationally and globally,” said San Francisco office managing partner Charles Correll. “He also has a reputation for working in a collaborative and pragmatic fashion. He’ll be a formidable asset to the firm.”

Scott retired in 2008 as a lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Army Reserve after 23 years of service as an infantry officer. He earned his JD from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and his undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University.

“I had the privilege of working directly with several King & Spalding lawyers in two previous presidential administrations, persons for whom I have the greatest personal and professional respect,” said Scott. “I believe great results will be created for clients when my network across the nation in general and in California in particular is added to King & Spalding’s exemplary client base and legal firepower. I could not be more pleased to be joining this great law firm.”

 

 

Dick Thornburgh Flag Presentation

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Monday, June 14, 2021 (Flag Day)

Please join us in celebrating the legacy of former U.S. Attorney and Attorney General, Dick Thornburgh, who passed away December 31 at age 88, and the inspiration of his career in public service.

Dick was honored and remembered in a virtual tribute by his former Department of Justice colleagues:

  • Mike McKay, K&L Gates, Seattle (U.S. Attorney, Seattle, WDWA, 1989-93)
  • Rich Rossman, Executive Director, NAFUSA (U.S. Attorney, Detroit, EDMI, 1980-81)
  • Karen Hewitt, President, NAFUSA (U.S. Attorney, San Diego, SDCA, 2007-10)
  • Paul Coggins, Immediate Past President, NAFUSA (U.S. Attorney, Dallas, NDTX, 1993-2001)
  • Acceptance remarks by John Thornburgh, on behalf of the Thornburgh family

Please click https://www.klgates.com/Remembering-Dick-Thornburgh-Former-US-Attorney-General-US-Attorney-Colleague-and-Friend-co-hosted-with-The-National-Association-of-Former-US-Attorneys-6-14-2021 to view a video of the program.

Dick Thornburgh was born on July 16, 1932 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Yale University in 1954 and earned his LL.B degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1957. Mr. Thornburgh also holds honorary degrees from 31 colleges and universities.

Following law school, Mr. Thornburgh worked in private industry until 1959 when he joined the Pittsburgh law firm then known as Kirkpatrick, Pomeroy, Lockhart & Johnson. In 1967, he was elected as a delegate to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. From 1969 to 1975, Mr. Thornburgh was the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division in 1975, serving two years in Washington, D.C. in that role before returning to private practice as a partner at Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson & Hutchison. Pennsylvania elected Mr. Thornburgh governor in 1979 and he served two terms. Mr. Thornburgh also taught courses at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and directed that school’s Institute of Politics from 1987 to 1988.

Appointed by President Reagan, Dick Thornburgh was sworn in as Attorney General on August 12, 1988. President George H.W. Bush reinstated him as Attorney General in 1989 and he served until 1991. In 1992, the American Legion honored Mr. Thornburgh with its highest award, the “Distinguished Services Medal.” He published his autobiography in 2003 entitled, Where the Evidence Leads: The Autobiography of Dick Thornburgh.

Please click https://www.klgates.com/KL-Gates-Mourns-Passing-of-Longtime-Partner-Former-Pennsylvania-Governor-and-US-Attorney-General-Dick-Thornburgh-12-31-2020re for the K&L Gates statement in honor of Dick.

 

UVA Offers Course on Mueller Investigation Taught By Bob

The University of Virginia School of Law is offering a new course this fall entitled “The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel.” It will be taught by NAFUSA member Bob Mueller and three members of his team. Mueller led the nearly two-year-long inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Russia and its potential interference in the 2016 election. Over six in-person sessions, they will take a chronological look at the investigation and the function of a special counsel. The course will focus on the key decisions made during the course of the investigation and the challenges and tradeoffs presented by those decisions.

Mueller was a United States Marine Corps officer, an Assistant United States Attorney in three different offices, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, and the longest-serving Director of the FBI since J. Edgar Hoover. He earned his law degree in 1973 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Law Review. He is currently a partner at WilmerHale in Washington.

SCOTUS Cites Former US Attorney Amicus Brief

On January 21, 2021, Robins Kaplan LLP filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of ten former United States Attorneys. The case, United States v. Cooley, concerns the scope of tribal law enforcement’s search and seizure authority over non-Natives on the Reservation. The ten amici included Robins Kaplan partners and NAFUSA members Tim Purdon and Brendan Johnson, along with several other NAFUSA members.

On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion holding that a tribal police officer has authority to detain temporarily and to search non-Indian persons traveling on public rights-of-way running through a reservation for potential violations of state or federal law. In doing so, the Court twice cited the amicus brief of the ten former United States Attorneys twice on pages 7 and 8: Click here to read the Supreme Court opinion.

Karen Hewitt Elected President of NAFUSA

On May 24, 2021, Karen Hewitt was elected president of NAFUSA. She will serve until the 2022 annual conference, tentatively scheduled for April 6-8 at the Del Coronado in San Diego. She replaces Paul Coggins, who served as president from 2019 until this May. Paul will continue on the board of directors as the immediate past president.

Karen is the Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s California Region, which encompasses five offices and nearly 300 lawyers. She has been recognized in Chambers as a “real powerhouse.” Before joining Jones Day, Karen served as the  United States Attorney for the Southern District of California (2007-2010), where she focused on national security, border security, cyber and intellectual property crime, white collar and financial crime, civil fraud, violent crime, and narcotics enforcement.

Karen is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully litigated hundreds of cases in federal court for more than two decades. She currently represents companies nationwide in civil and criminal investigations and in complex business litigation. Karen’s practice focuses on defending matters involving possible violations of federal law, including the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Taft-Hartley Act, and the False Claims Act.

Karen led the defense of an international retailer in a complex FCPA investigation conducted by the DOJ and SEC in four countries. She also has represented major public and private companies in internal investigations on highly sensitive topics, crisis management, compliance, contested proceedings before regulatory agencies, and “bet-the-company” litigation. In the matters Karen leads, she routinely reports to senior management, the board of directors, the audit committee or a special committee, and develops the comprehensive strategy for the company to protect and defend itself from a range of legal and regulatory risks.

She is a Master in the Enright Inn of Court and a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of San Diego School of Law, from which she earned her J.D. in 1989.

Doug Jones Joins Center for American Progress

NAFUSA held its second webinar on April 20. It was sponsored by Locke Lord LLP and featured Former United States Senator Doug Jones. The title of Doug’s talk was “Justice Delayed, Not Justice Denied: The prosecutions of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing cases.” Doug served as the United States Attorney for the District of Alabama (1997-2001) and as the United States Senator for the State of Alabama from 2018 to 2021.

He is a long time member of NAFUSA and would have been installed as president of NAFUSA in 2018 if he hadn’t stepped down to run for the Senate. In April, the Center for American Progress (CAP) welcomed Doug as a distinguished senior fellow. At CAP, Doug will focus on racial equity and social justice issues, as well as criminal justice and democracy reform.“Sen. Jones has been a leader in the fight for civil rights for decades,” said John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress. “At this critical moment, I’m grateful that the former senator will bring to CAP his deep expertise and commitment to racial equity and strengthening our democracy.”

“Events over the past year have brought our country to a moment of reckoning on matters of race and justice, including inequities in health care, education, income and voting rights,” said Sen. Jones. “With this moment, we have an opportunity to fulfill our obligation to future generations of Americans to protect the gains made over the last half-century and set the country firmly on the path of progress. I look forward to working with CAP to develop and promote policies that can help move us toward a more perfect realization of our founding ideals.”

In the event you were unable to join us for the webinar, it was recorded and available here:

McQuade and Vance Join New Podcast “#SistersInLaw”

NAFUSA members Barb McQuade (ED Michigan 2010-2017) and Joyce Vance (ND Alabama 2009-2017) have teamed with Boston Global Opinion columnist Kimberly Atkins and Jill Wine-Banks, the only woman on the Watergate prosecution team, to launch the podcast #SistersInLaw.

Produced by  Politicon, the four MSNBC analysts make up the team that hosts a weekly roundtable, breaking down legal, political and cultural issues of the day.

Dubbed the “sisters in law” by MSNBC viewers, the four get together every Friday for a weekly discussion that educates listeners on the legal issues of the week in a fun and accessible manner. The podcast launched at the #1 spot on the politics charts and at #13th overall. With over 1700 five star reviews after the first few episodes, listeners are praising #SistersInLaw as an “insightful and welcoming” “legal podcast dream team.”

 

Over the past four years, the public has gotten to know Barb, Jill, Joyce and Kim from their frequent appearances on MSNBC and their writing. #SistersInLaw, the podcast, is the result of the demand for a more indepth version of the easy to understand civics lessons they became known for during the unprecedented administration of Donald Trump. Together, the four women have been practicing or studying law for over 15 decades, and have broad expertise in some of the most important areas on the legal and political landscape including criminal justice and policing reform, foreign and domestic terrorism, voting rights and election law, health care fraud, international drug and humantrafficking, violent crime and fighting systemic discrimination.

Joyce White Vance: The first woman U.S. Attorney appointed by President Obama, Vance established the first civil-rights unit in a U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alabama and launched a statewide investigation into inhumane conditions in Alabama’s prisons. She is currently a professor at the University of Alabama School of law, as well as a knitter and backyard chicken farmer.

Barb McQuade: Appointed by President Obama as the first female U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, she also served as the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit for 12 years, focusing on national security cases. She is currently a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Barb is an avid sports fan whose dream job is playing shortstop for the Detroit Tigers.

NAFUSA Webinar April 20: Doug Jones

NAFUSA’s second webinar will take place on Tuesday, April 20 at noon CST. It will be sponsored by Locke Lord LLP and feature Former United States Senator Doug Jones.

The title of Doug’s talk is “Justice Delayed, Not Justice Denied: The prosecutions of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing cases.” Doug served as the United States Attorney for the District of Alabama (1997-2001) and as the United States Senator for the State of Alabama from 2018 to 2021.
He is a long time member of NAFUSA and would have been installed as president of NAFUSA in 2018 if he hadn’t stepped down to run for the Senate. He was the NAFUSA keynote speaker in Nashville in 2018.
NAFUSA members and friends will receive an invitation in early April. One hour CLE credit will be offered to attendees. If you have any questions, contact Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty at lisarafferty27@gmail.com.

Ted Olson’s New Podcast

NAFUSA member Ted Olson, solicitor general of the United States 2001-2004, and assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, 1981-1984) has teamed up with his partner at Gibson Dunn, Ted Boutrous, in a new podcast (“The Two Teds”). Boutros is the global co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s litigation department.

Olson and Boutrous discuss some of the high-profile, high-stakes cases they have argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and elsewhere.You can listen to stories from inside the appellate litigation war room as the arguments were developed, and find out what it takes to win at the nation’s highest courts.