Professor Rory Little, of the University of California Hastings College of Law, will give a presentation on legal ethics at NAFUSA's Atlanta conference in October. He is a nationally recognized authority on criminal litigation ethics and on three occasions he has been awarded the "Best Professor" designation by Hastings' third-year class.

 

A graduate of Yale Law School, Little served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer; Justice Potter Stewart (ret.); and Justice William J. Brennan Jr. He also clerked part-time for Justices Powell, Stevens and Chief Justice Burger in a unique one-year experience.

 

Little has served in the Department of Justice with the Organized Crime & Racketeering Strike Force, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California and as an associate deputy attorney general at Main Justice during the Clinton Administration.

 

Professor Little annually publishes a Review of the Supreme Court's Term: Criminal Cases for the ABA. He serves as reporter to the ABA's Task Force to Revise the Criminal Justice Standards, Prosecution and Defense Functions.  also is of counsel for appellate matters to McDermott Will & Emery. 

 

The Spring meeting of the NAFUSA board of directors was held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan on June 9, 2012. Pictured above standing on the porch of the Grand: President Elect Jay Stephens, Executive Director Rich Rossman and Patty Rossman, Melissa Orwig and Secretary Matt Orwig, Vice President Don Stern, Chuck Stevens, Paul Coggins, President Rick Deane, Fondation President Mike McKay and Nanci McKay, Tom Maroney, Jim Brady, Hal Hardin, Terry Flynn, Patty Woods and Ron Woods and Bart Daniel.

 

Seated: Cathy Brady, Julie Stevens, Cindy Daniel, Mary Kay Maroney, Erica Stern and Regina Montoya. Present but not pictured: Jack Selden and Don Foster.

 

President Rick Deane welcomed the board to Mackinac Island and announced the planning for the annual conference to be held in Atlanta on October 11-13, 2012. The current plans can be viewed on the NAFUSA website which will be updated regularly. The conferences would not be possible without the sponsors. President-Elect Jay Stephens announced that the 2013 conference will be held in on September 26-28 in Washington, DC. Vice President Don Stern advised that the 2014 conference will be in Boston.

 

Jack Selden reported on membership. NAFUSA currently has 269 active members, including 42 life members and 26 seniors. When a U.S. Attorney leaves office, NAFUSA will extend an invitation to join, and the dues are waived for the first year. Selden also encouraged reaching out to former Department of Justice officials who have served pursuant to a Presidential commission, who are eligible for full membership.

 

President Deane had appointed a process committee, co-chaired by Don Stern and Ron Woods to review how NAFUSA should handle requests to the organization to take positions on public issues. The board adopted the recommendations outlined by the committee in NAFUSA Policy Committee Report:

1. NAFUSA was founded as a non-partisan organization, to promote, defend, and further the integrity and the preservation of the litigating authority and independence of the Office of the United States Attorney.

 

2. Any public position taken by NAFUSA (which would include public statements, letters, or other written or oral expressions on behalf of NAFUSA) should be on an issue which furthers these objectives. Public positions on more general issues of the administration of justice are not likely to be considered.

 

3. It is expected that public positions will be taken rarely, and only for compelling reasons and when there appears to be general consensus of the membership, having in mind the collegial and non-partisan nature of NAFUSA.

 

4. Such public positions will be authorized by a super-majority vote of the Board (75% of those eligible to vote). Votes may be taken by phone or email ballot.

 

5. This policy is not intended to restrict the ability of any individual member of NAFUSA, including officers and directors, to take personal and public positions on any issue, including controversial issues. If necessary, every effort should be made to make clear that the member is not representing or speaking on behalf of NAFUSA.

 

 

The board met on Saturday morning. More photos of the Mackinac conference are posted on the website and can be accessed at NAFUSA Spring Board Meeting June 9, 2012

 

On May 8, 2012, former U.S. Attorney and NAFUSA member Susan W. Brooks won the Republican nomination to replace retiring Rep. Dan Burton in Indiana's 5th District Congressional race. Brooks finished first in a field of eight in the GOP primary. She will face her Democratic opponent in November.

 

For the last four years, Brooks served as senior vice president and general counsel for Ivy Tech Community College. She serves on the State Workforce Innovation Council, the BioCrossroadsLINX Board, the TechPoint board, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Ready Indiana Board, and the Indiana University Public Policy Institute.

 

In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Susan as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, where she served for six years.

 

From 1998-99, Brooks served as deputy mayor of Indianapolis, focused on public safety and social issues. In addition to oversight of police, fire, and emergency response activities, she represented the City of Indianapolis on numerous boards related to criminal justice, community corrections, violence reduction, race relations, and programs of the United Way of Central Indiana, among others.

 

From 1999-2001, Susan practiced law at the Indianapolis law firm of Ice Miller in the Government Services Practice Group. Brooks has also practiced as a criminal defense attorney at the Indianapolis law firm of McClure, McClure and Kammen.

 

Susan has devoted countless volunteer hours to numerous civic and community efforts, including service on the following boards: St. Vincent Hospital, the Children's Museum, Women's Fund of Central Indiana, Indiana Youth Institute, Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis Board of Visitors, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Junior League of Indianapolis, and Carmel Library Foundation. She co-chaired the NCAA 2011 Women's Final Four.

 

Brooks is a graduate of the Indiana University Indianapolis School of Law. She currently resides in Carmel with her husband, David, and two children.

 

NAFUSA member Mary Jo White has been retained by the National Football League to review the evidence against four New Orleans Saints players suspended as a result of allegations of a bounty system for payments for inflicting injuries on opposing players. As reported on June 19, 2012, in The New York Times article entitled Ex-Prosecutor Presents N.F.L.'s Findings at Appeals in Bounty Case, White reviewed the evidence and presented the N.F.L.'s case during the appeal hearing for the Saints players before Commissioner Roger Goodell.

White served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York 1993-2002. After leaving office, she rejoined Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and became chair of the firm's litigation department. She is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International College of Trial Lawyers. White has served as a director of The Nasdaq Stock Exchange and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

On June 5, 2012, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the State Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of NAFUSA board member Terrance P. Flynn as a trustee of the New York Power Authority (NYPA). Established by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1931, NYPA is America's largest state power organization, with 17 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines.

 

"I look forward to the opportunity afforded me by Governor Cuomo and the State Senate to be a member of the Power Authority's Board of Trustees," said Flynn. "NYPA is instrumental to the state's electric power system and economy, and I am honored to be soon working alongside the other trustees and the Power Authority's senior management. I hope to apply the experiences that I've gained over the years in the legal profession in contributing to NYPA's broad mission for New York State."

 

Flynn is a partner at Harris Beach where he is the co-leader of the firm's 13-office government compliance and investigations practice group. Founded in 1856, Harris Beach and its affiliates provide a full range of legal and professional services for clients across New York state as well as nationally. Harris Beach has more than 200 lawyers and is one of the country's Top 250 law firms as ranked by The National Law Journal.

 

As co-leader of this practice group, Flynn advises Fortune 500 or large privately held companies, including Facebook and Continental Airlines, on such matters as corporate compliance, commercial litigation, product liability, or personal injury litigation. Flynn is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo and the Federal Bar Council Foundation.

 

Prior to joining Harris Beach, Flynn served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York from 2006 to 2009. He received degrees in accounting and law from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Buffalo Law School.