Rosenstein to speak at ABA criminal justice meeting in D.C.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and Vanita Gupta, president & CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, will be keynote speakers at the American Bar Association’s 10th Annual Criminal Justice Section Fall Institute, Nov. 2-3, at the Westin Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Department of Justice’s investigation into possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in the 2016 election, will deliver the keynote address at the section’s awards luncheon on Friday, Nov. 3, from 12:30-2:15 p.m.
Gupta will deliver the opening address on Friday from 9-9:30 a.m. She previously served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and acting head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division until January 20, 2017.
During the awards luncheon, five persons have been selected for recognition for their work in the legal profession. The honorees are:
• Charles R. English Award: Nina Marino, Kaplan Marino, Beverly Hills, Calif.
• Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award: Heather Cartwright, Department of Justice, Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism, Washington, D.C.
• Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award: Richard Schmack, former DeKalb County state attorney, Sycamore, Ill.; and Robert Zauzmer, assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; pardon attorney, Clemency Project
• Raeder-Taslitz Award: Ellen Podgor, Stetson University College of Law, DeLand, Fla.
Program highlights include:
• “White Collar Crime Town Hall: The Politically Charged Investigation: The Washington Insider’s Guide” — This roundtable discussion will address issues that arise in high-profile investigations, including how to handle the involvement of independent or special counsel, Congress, and the media, all while navigating a defense to potential criminal charges. Moderator Christopher N. Manning, partner, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, D.C., will be joined by panelists Reginald J. Brown, partner, WilmerHale, Washington; W. Neil Eggleston, partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington; Kathryn H. Ruemmler, global co-chair of the White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice and a partner at Latham & Watkins, Washington; and Pierre Thomas, senior justice correspondent, ABC News, Washington.
• “Plenary Session I: The Ongoing Challenge of Preventing and Addressing Hate Violence” — In the 16 years since 9/11, hate- and bias-related violence has been an ever-present challenge facing America and has increased since the 2016 national election. While the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has provided more tools to law enforcement combatting hate crimes, addressing hate violence will require a combination of strategies including public education and data collection. This panel will explore the constellation of strategies that advocates are using to prevent and address hate violence, and discuss ways to engage the legal community in these efforts. Gupta will moderate a panel that includes Abed Ayoub, director of National Legal & Policy, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Washington, D.C.; Kristen Clarke, president and ED of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington; Richard Cohen, president, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Ala.; Robert Moossy, Jr., deputy assistant attorney general, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Washington; and Sim J. Singh, national advocacy manager, The Sikh Coalition, Washington.
• “Plenary Session II: Privacy in the Age of Snapchat: Practical and Policy Solutions for Nonconsensual Porn” — Nonconsensual porn, or the dissemination of sexually explicit images of another without their consent, is a hot topic in the legal world. This panel will discuss nonconsensual porn from multiple perspectives, from the prosecutors who fight against this invasion of privacy to the professors who study it. The panel will explore how practicing attorneys might encounter this issue, and what policymakers should look for when crafting legislation to protect victims and avoid overcriminalization. Moderator Lauren King, staff attorney, Criminal Justice Section, American Bar Association, Washington, D.C., will be joined by panelists Gary Ernsdorff, supervising attorney, Special Operations Unit, King County Prosecutor’s Office, Washington; 2. Erica Johnstone, partner, Ridder, Costa & Johnstone LLP, San Francisco; Faith S. Lovell, director of Raise the Age Strategy and Planning, Family Court Division, New York City Law Department; and Protima Pandey, managing attorney & regional counsel for Immigration, Bay Area Legal Aid, Redwood, Calif.
• “Plenary Session III: Criminal Justice Reform in the Trump Era” — Every change of administration brings changes in myriad policies—often in the area of criminal justice. Sometimes the changes at the federal level are inconsistent with policies and initiatives on-going in state and local jurisdictions. A year after the election of President Trump, the panel will address criminal justice reforms in the Trump era. Panelists include Kevin Curtin, assistant district attorney, Middlesex County District Attorney, Woburn, Mass.; A. J. Kramer, federal public defender, Washington, D.C.; Justine “Tina” Luongo, attorney-in-charge of the Criminal Practice, The Legal Aid Society, New York; Mary Price, general counsel, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Washington; and G. Zachary Terwilliger, associate deputy attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington. Janet Levine, partner, Crowell & Moring LLP, Los Angeles, will serve as moderator.
• “Plenary Session IV: Escalating Immigration Enforcement: Impact upon the Criminal Justice System” — This panel will address the nature and extent of expanding immigration enforcement actions that affect the prosecution and defense of criminal actions, including the impact upon victims, witnesses and defendants. Speakers will also discuss current and prospective DOJ and Department of Homeland Security policies, pending legislation relating to INA Sec. 287 defining sensitive locations including courthouses, so-called sanctuary cities and local and state challenges to these increasingly aggressive enforcement efforts. Moderating the panel will be Raul Ayala, deputy federal public defender, Collaborative Courts Supervising Attorney, Los Angeles. Panelists include Anthony Holloway, chief of police, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Avideh Moussavian, senior policy attorney, National Immigration Law Center, Washington; and Angela Sierra, senior assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Enforcement Section, Office of the Attorney General for the State of California.
Unaccompanied minors, technology and diversity among topics at ABA Solo & Small Firm Summit
Immigration, law firm technology and building an inclusive practice will be among topics explored at the American Bar Association’s 2017 Solo & Small Firm Summit, Oct. 18-21, at the Saint Paul Hotel in St. Paul, Minn.
A highlight of the summit is the Difference Makers Awards luncheon at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20. The annual Difference Makers Awards Program recognizes extraordinary lawyers who make a difference by breaking barriers, through community service, pro bono work and service to the profession.
The 2017 Difference Makers Award winners are:
• Artika R. Tyner, University of St. Thomas (Difference Maker Award)
• Alphonse A. Gerhardstein, Cincinnati (Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award)
• LaJune Lange, Minneapolis (Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award)
• Eileen Sullivan, Phoenix (Making a Difference through Community Service Award)
Program highlights include:
• “Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Who They Are, Why They Flee, and How You Can Help—Part One—Representing a Child Client: Tips & Techniques” — Presenters will discuss ways to evaluate the child client’s capacity as well as how to best work with a child client. The presenters will discuss child-friendly interviewing techniques and give tips on building trust with a child client. Panelists will give guidance on the child’s participation in court hearings and speak directly to the specific tasks listed for the child’s attorney as outlined in the ABA Model Guidelines for Working with Children in Immigration Hearings.
• “Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Who They Are, Why They Flee, and How You Can Help—Part Two—Federal Immigration Court for First Timers and Common Forms of Relief for Children” — Attendees will learn about legal remedies available to unaccompanied children, such as asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, visas for victims of crime and trafficking visas. Attorneys will have the invaluable opportunity to put the concepts they have learned into practice during the mock hearing presided over by a retired immigration judge. Attorneys will also learn about pro bono opportunities with immigration legal services programs assisting these children in their communities.
• “How General Practice Firms Can Operate Effectively and Ethically Through Technology Adoption and Better Understand, Serve and Protect Their Clients” —The influx of technology has added even more pressure to small law firms with greater demands on security, adequate business procedures, greater efficiency, marketing and meeting client demands.
• “Diversity Roundtable—Building an Inclusive Legal Profession and Law Firm” — Innovation without Diversity and Inclusion is bound to go off course, since diversity is critical to advancing a robust exchange of ideas, supporting creative problem solving and promoting the common good. This roundtable will explore hot topics and trends related to how solo and small firms can develop the necessary tools for fostering diversity and inclusion by improving thinking, problem solving, decision-making and collective engagement.
