The NAFUSA DC Planning Committee, chaired by President Jay Stephens, has announced plans for this year's NAFUSA conference to be held at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC, September 26-28, 2013.

 

The conference will open with a cocktail reception on Thursday evening, September 26, from 6-8 PM on the roof top of Jones Day, overlooking the Capitol, one of the finest venues in Washington. Golf will available on Thursday morning at the prestigious Congressional Country Club. 

 

On Friday morning, September 27, the CLE portion of the conference will open at 8 AM, with a welcome from DC US Attorney Ronald Machen, followed by the traditional roundhouse introduction of members. The morning will feature two panel discussions. The first on the False Claims Act, chaired by Bart Daniel and featuring Michael Granston Of DOJ, Mark Roberts of Ernst & Young, and NAFUSA members Atlee Wampler and Jack Selden, both of whom are experieced practioneers in the false claims area. The second panel, National Security and Surveillance, will be moderated by Charlie Savage of The New York Times and will feature Ken Wainstein. 

 

Friday's lunch will be served at the JW Marriott and NAFUSA members will then be invited to the Great Hall at Main Justice to meet with James Cole, the Deputy Attorney General, Tony West, the Associate Attorney General and Marshall Jarrett, Loretta Lynch and David Margolis. 

 

Friday evening will feature class reunions with the Reagan-Bush I group having dinner at the United States Supreme Court, as guests of Justice Alito.  

 

 

On Saturday morning, September 28, the CLE programs will continue with the presentation of the J. Michael Bradford Award to the assistant United States attorney of the year. It will be followed by a panel discussion on criminal litigation ethics, with Mary Patrice Brown, the former head of OPR, and U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman. The final panel of the conference with be on the Supreme Court, moderated by Pete Williams of NBC and featuring NAFUSA member and former solicitor general Ted Olson.

 

Lunch on Saturday will be on a leisurely cruise on the Potomac River. The conference will close on Saturday evening with a dinner and general membership meeting. 

 

 

 

 

 

On July 29, 2013, the United States Senate voted 93-1 to confirm James Comey as FBI director, to replace Robert Mueller at the end of Mueller's 12 year term in September. Comey served as the deputy attorney general in the administration of George W. Bush (2003-2005). He also served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (2002-2003). 

 

  

  

NAFUSA member and former board member Joseph P. Russoniello has joined the newly opened San Francisco office of Los Angeles litigation boutique firm Browne George Ross LLP. The firm is a 10-lawyer firm that litigates high-stakes cases.

 

Russoniello served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California 1982-1990, and again in 2008-2010. Since leaving the U.S. Attorney's position, he has been doing mostly consulting work. Russoniello also served as Dean of the San Francisco Law School for five and a half years. He received a J.D. degree from New York University Law School. He has served as special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and later served as an assistant district attorney for the City and County of San Francisco.

 

The new San Francisco office of Browne George Ross will have an emphasis on white-collar crime and complex corporate litigation.

NAFUSA member Donald J. DeGabrielle, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, has joined Bracewell & Giuliani in its Houston office as a partner in its white collar defense, internal investigations and regulatory enforcement practice. In addition to serving as the U.S. Attorney, DeGabrielle has served as a special agent with the FBI and an assistant U.S. attorney.

 

"The judgment one develops and exercises as U.S. Attorney is unparalleled. It gives Don the ability to advise clients with insight that very few lawyers possess," added Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the firm's name partner and a lifetime member of NAFUSA.

 

During his time with the U.S. Attorney's Office, DeGabrielle led the Criminal Division within the district and held an assignment with the Public Integrity Unit, where he focused on trials related to public corruption, white collar crime, environmental crimes and bank fraud, trying over 50 criminal jury trials. He also spent a year as the resident legal adviser to the South African National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, serving as a consultant and adviser for rule of law and criminal justice development.

 

Before his tenure in the Southern District of Texas, DeGabrielle was an assistant district attorney in New Orleans, where he conducted more than 150 jury trials. He is also a former FBI special agent in New York and New Orleans.

 

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is an international law firm with 470 lawyers in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Seattle, Dubai and London, serving Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, leading private investment funds, governmental entities and individuals concentrated in the energy, technology and financial services sectors worldwide.