NAFUSA board member Veronica Coleman-Davis has submitted her resignation as a member of the board of directors, class of 2013. She has decided to return to the active practice of law in the area of juvenile representation. Coleman-Davis has long been involved with children's issues and the issues of poverty and fairness. She expects much of her work will be pro bono and will limit her ability to participate in outside activities due to the expense. She has promised to continue to be an active member of NAFUSA. She expects to see all of us in Atlanta.

The bylaws provide that the all vacancies on the board shall be filled by the directors remaining in office. On April 16, 2012, the board appointed Hal D. Hardin of Nashville, Tennessee, shown right, to fill the Coleman-Davis vacancy. Hardin served as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee 1977-1981, appointed by President Jimmy Carter. He has also served as a Circuit Judge, the presiding trial judge in Nashville, and, for a few cases, a special judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Hardin is a professor emeritus of the Nashville School of Law. He attended the University of Tennessee Law School and holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Hardin was featured in the January 2012 NAFUSA newsletter for his role in the "bipartisan coup" 33 years ago in Tennessee when outgoing governor Ray Blanton issued 52 executive clemencies, including a pardon for the son of a political friend. Hardin led the effort to force Blanton out of office an install the new governor three days early. At a forum at Vanderbilt, former governor Lamar Alexander told the story of Hardin's role. Click here to watch an excerpt from the Vanderbilt forum where Governor Alexander discusses the role of Hal Hardin.

Prior to his election, Strange was in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama, where he founded Strange LLC, named one of the top firms in the Southeast for economic development. Prior to starting his own firm, he was a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. He is a graduate of Tulane University Law School.

Chief John King, the Chief of Police for the City of Doraville, Georgia since 2002, has also joined the panel on immigration. Prior to becoming chief, King served a number of assignments that included serving as a task force officer to the FBI and the DEA.

Chief King is also an Infantry Colonel in the US Army and has been deployed numerous times with his last military assignment as Senior Military Advisor to the Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior, Kabul, Afghanistan, were he assisted DOD and the FBI in the establishment of the Major Crimes Task Force focused on anticorruption and specialized investigations by Afghan investigators. Chief King is currently the Commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Georgia Army National Guard.

COL King has held a number of other key staff and command positions in previous assignments. He served as commander on Company D, 1-108th Armor in Canton, Georgia during Desert Shield/Storm. He served as commander of Troop E, 348th Cavalry and Troop E 108th Cavalry in Griffin, Georgia. His staff assignments include Assistant S-3 Ops, 48th Infantry Brigade, and Operations Officer for 1-108th Armor. He also served as a scout platoon leader, tank platoon leader and executive officer.

Among his decorations are the Bronze Star Medal with 1/OLC, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantryman's Badge and Combat Action Badge. Chief King was born in Mexico City and speaks fluent Spanish. He is a graduate of FBI National Academy.

Strange and King will be joined on the immigration panel by moderator Charlie Savage, of The New York Times; Alexandro Mayorkas, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at DHS; and Nina Perales, President of Litigation for the Mexican Legal and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

The recent report in The New York Times of allegations that Wal-Mart suppressed an intenal inquiry into bribery in Mexico (see, for instance, Charlie Savage's April 26, 2012 article, With Wal-Mart Claims, Greater Attention on a Law),has led to an increased national focus on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A large group of former U.S. Attorneys are likely to be kept quite busy with FCPA issues. Wal-Mart named Tom Gean, shown left, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Global Compliance Officer. Gaen has been with Wal-Mart's legal department since 2004.

Greenberg Traurig is conducting a worldwide review of Wal-Mart's compliance programs, reporting to Gean. The Greenberg effort is led by former U.S. Attorneys John A. Pappalardo, shown right, and NAFUSA board member Joe D. Whitley, shown below left. Pappalardo is the co-managing shareholder of Greenberg and the co-chair of the firm's white collar criminal defense practice group. He served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Whitley is the chair of the firm's Atlanta white collar practice group. He served as U.S. Attorney in both the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia.

Wal-Mart has retained Jones Day to conduct its internal investigation and it is led by NAFUSA board member Karen P. Hewitt, shown right. Hewitt is the partner-in-charge of the firm's San Diego office. She served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. 

Yet another NAFUSA member, David N. Kelley, shown left, is one of the partners at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, serving as legal counsel for the Wal-Mart Audit Committee. He served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

United Technologies Corporation announced the appointment of NAFUSA member Kevin O'Connor to the new role role of Vice President, Global Compliance, effective March 19, 2012. He will lead the global business practices function for UTC, charged with ensuring full implementation and compliance with the company's code of ethics throughout the many countries in which UTC operates.

O'Connor served as the Associate Attorney General of the United States, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Chair of DOJ's Intellectual Property Task Force. He also served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut and Senior Counsel with the SEC's Division of Enforcement. O'Connor is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. He joins UTC from the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, where he was a partner and chair of the white collar practice group.

Day Pitney LLP announced on March 28, 2012 that NAFUSA member Stanley A. Twardy Jr., a former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut (1985-1991), has been named the firm's new managing partner, effective April 2. Twardy also served as chief of staff for Connecticut Governor Lowell Weicker from 1991 to 1993.

As a member of Day Pitney's White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations practice group, Twardy has defended Fortune 500 companies, executives of these companies, and others in federal and state criminal and regulatory investigations.Twardy earned his LL.M. from Georgetown University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Day Pitney LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston, and Washington, DC. The firm offers clients strong corporate and litigation practices, with experience on behalf of large national and international corporations as well as emerging- and middle-market companies and individuals.

On March 15, 2012, Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge and a Harvard Law School teacher, and Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, published an OpEd in the Wall Street Journal entitled How to Rein In Rouge Prosecutors.

Gertner and Scheck propose what they call a "simple solution for dealing with prosecutorial misconduct":

Thirty days before trial, or at some reasonable time, the trial judge should convene a conference and issue a specific order directing prosecutors to produce all evidence that 'tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigate the offense,' as required by the American Bar Association's ethics rules. This should include the requirement that prosecutors contact the relevant law-enforcement personnel to make certain all such evidence is disclosed as soon as possible.

The OpEd led to letters to the editor, including one from NAFUSA member Peter Vaira where he takes the position that the Gertner-Scheck proposal "doesn't go far enough." Vaira argues the need for more disclosure in the sentencing process. He concludes: 

I propose that in federal cases that the court order the defense counsel to file with the court the adjustments required by the sentencing guidelines that are present in that particular case, and to direct the prosecutor to thereafter make a specific search for any material which would mitigate the application of those factors. This would include a direction to cause a search of the investigating agency or police-force's files.