United States Court of Federal Claims - 29th Annual Judicial Conference
United States Court of Federal Claims - 29th Annual Judicial Conference - National Courts Building, Washington, DC - Wednesday, November 14, 2018
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Speakers

Michael Bahar
Eversheds Sutherland LLP

Michael BaharMichael Bahar, a partner in the Washington DC office of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, is the Co-Lead of the firm's global Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Team and a member of the firm’s Litigation practice. As former Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council at the White House, former Minority Staff Director and General Counsel for the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, and as a former Active Duty U.S. Navy JAG, Michael provides advice on cybersecurity and privacy, international law and national security law.

While with the House Intelligence Committee, he was a lead drafter and negotiator for the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, the USA Freedom Act (which reformed certain key surveillance authorities) and four annual Intelligence Authorization Acts. More recently, he was a leader of the Committee’s investigation into the Russian hacking of the 2016 election.

Michael offers clients a wealth of knowledge about cybersecurity, information sharing, privacy, crisis management and establishing cybersecurity programs that not only accord with ever evolving laws and regulations, but that also find business opportunities.

He speaks regularly at industry and corporate conferences across the country, as well as on national television, and he is widely quoted in the press and a frequent author.

Michael’s previous experience also includes serving nearly 10 years on Active Duty with the Navy's Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, where he litigated felony court-martials, dealt with cutting-edge legal issues involving the laws of war, led the capture and investigation of the US Navy’s first set of captured pirates in generations, led a team of lawyers deployed to Afghanistan in support of a Special Operations Task Force, and completed two Pentagon tours. He has received two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, six Navy Commendation Medals and one Navy Achievement Medal, in addition to earning his Navy Parachutist Wings.

Jason Bergmann
Department of Justice

Jason Bergmann works for the Department of Justice, where he has served as lead counsel for the United States in tax litigation matters in the Court of Federal Claims and in district courts throughout the United States for the past 11 years. He was named a Tax Division Outstanding Attorney in 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2017. He received the Attorney General's Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee from Attorney General Eric Holder on October 17, 2012.

Judge Eric G. Bruggink
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Judge Bruggink was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on April 15, 1986 and entered on duty April 21, 1986. He is a cum laude graduate of Auburn University, receiving a B.A. degree in sociology in 1971 and an M.A. degree in speech in 1972. Judge Bruggink received his J.D. in 1975 from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a Hugo Black Scholar and Note and Comments Editor of the Alabama Law Review. Judge Bruggink was appointed Director, Office of Appeals Counsel of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board in November 1982, and served in that position until his appointment as Judge of the Court of Federal Claims. He formerly served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Frank H. McFadden of the Northern District of Alabama, and as an associate with the law firms of Steiner, Crum & Baker in Montgomery, Alabama, 1979-1982, and Hardwick, Hause & Segrest in Dothan, Alabama, 1976-1977. He was Assistant Director of the Alabama Law Institute from 1977 to 1979, during which time he established the Office of Energy and Environmental Law and served as its first director. Born in Kalidjati, Indonesia, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1960, and speaks Dutch. Judge Bruggink is married to the former Melinda Harris, and has two sons, John and David. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the Federal Circuit Bar.

Jay Carey
Covington & Burling

Jay CareyJason “Jay” Carey is a partner at Covington & Burling, where he serves as vice-chair of the Government Contracts practice group and co-chair of the Aerospace, Defense, and National Security industry group. Mr. Carey represents clients in litigation with the government and other private parties, counsels clients regarding a wide range of formation and compliance matters, and defends clients under investigation by federal and state governments.

He is widely recognized by clients and peers as a top-tier bid protest lawyer and regularly represents government contractors in protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims. He has prosecuted and defended more than 80 protests covering a wide range of procurements, such as aerospace and defense, biotechnology, health care, information technology, and telecommunications. Over the past year, he has achieved successful results for clients across a range of industries in protests involving procurements collectively worth approximately $16 billion.

Mr. Carey also is a vice chair of the ABA Bid Protest Committee, and is a frequent lecturer and author on bid protests, conflicts of interest, ethics, and intellectual property issues.

David J. Carney
Anapol Weiss

David J. CarneyDavid J. Carney is an associate at Anapol Weiss where he dedicates his practice to representing individuals in matters involving toxic torts, benzene exposure, vaccine injuries, medical malpractice and mass torts.

During his time at Anapol Weiss, David has played an integral role in obtaining multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements for victims that have been injured as a result of a physician's medical negligence. David helped obtain a $1.9 million verdict in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania for the estate of a pregnant mother of two, who died after she was sent home from the emergency room when her signs and symptoms of pneumonia were misdiagnosed and untreated. Also, David played a critical role in obtaining a $1.1 million verdict in Cumberland County, New Jersey for the estate of a father, who presented to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of a pulmonary embolism that was misdiagnosed and consequently led to his death. Finally, David helped achieve a $7.25 million verdict in Philadelphia County on behalf of a widow whose husband died from mesothelioma from his exposures to asbestos containing products while working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the 1960s.

David also created a niche practice of law representing victims that have suffered adverse events from the administration of a vaccine in the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. David has achieved great success in the firm's vaccine practice by obtaining significant compensation sums for those injured from vaccines, including $40 million for a four year old boy who was diagnosed with encephalitis that was caused by the Varicella vaccination. David also obtained a $11.6 million settlement on behalf of a 22-year old woman who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) after receiving an influenza vaccine. In addition, David routinely handles vaccine cases involving the Gardasil, Influenza, Varicella, DTaP, Hepatitis A and B, and MMR vaccines that have been linked to a variety of autoimn1une diseases such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), lupus, brachial neuritis, encephalopathy, and others and has successfully obtained countless six-figure settlements for those claims.

David was named a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40 in Pennsylvania. This professional organization is composed of the top trial lawyers under the age of 40 who exemplify superior qualifications, leadership and trial results in their specific state or region. David was also selected for inclusion in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 New Jersey and Pennsylvania editions of Super Lawyers® Rising Stars. David is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. David is an active member of the A1nerican Association for Justice, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. He is intimately involved as a member of the Vaccine Injury Petitioner's Bar Association that advocates for the rights of victims that have been injured as a result of a vaccination and currently serves as the Vice President of the Vaccine Injured Petitioners Bar Association.

In addition to his active involvement in the various legal organizations, David has authored all seven editions of The Legal Intelligencer's Pennsylvania Causes of Action books, he has collaborated in publishing the article in the American Association for Justice's trial magazine titled, "The Ins and Outs of Vaccine Litigation," authored "Vaccine Injuries - Protect Yourself Against Blown Statute of Limitations" in The Legal Intelligencer, and he has lectured on Vaccine Litigation at the Annual AAJ Conference and Vaccine Conference.

David earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 2007 while also obtaining a minor in Business Law. He received his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 2010 where he was a recipient of the Widener Scholar scholarship. While in law school, David was a member of The Widener Law Review for two years and served on the editorial board during his third year.

Christina Ciampolillo
Conway Homer, P.C.

Christina Ciampolillo is a junior partner at Conway Homer, P.C., a firm that limits its practice exclusively to litigation in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, where it has been a proponent of vaccine-injured litigants since the Program's inception. Prior to law school, she worked as a mediator in consumer affairs for the Massachusetts' Attorney General's Office. Christina graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 2009. She joined Conway Homer, P.C. in 2008, first as a law clerk, then as a trial attorney, and currently, as the firm's junior partner.

Christina has practiced before the Office of Special Masters, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She currently serves as the President of the Vaccine Injured Petitioners Bar Association. She is also a member of the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association and the American Association for Justice.

Special Master Brian H. Corcoran
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Brian H. Corcoran was appointed as a Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on January 13, 2014. He graduated cum laude, with high honors in his major, from Dartmouth College in 1988. He received his J.D. in 1991 from the University of Virginia School Of Law. Mr. Corcoran is a seasoned trial attorney with experience in a wide variety of legal matters, including intellectual property, general commercial disputes, tax matters, and pro bono civil rights and employment discrimination actions. Until 2008, he was employed in the private sector, rising to the level of partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. From 2008 to 2014, Mr. Corcoran worked for the Department of Justice, Tax Division, as a trial attorney, where he obtained numerous permanent injunctions against fraudulent tax preparers and the promoters of illegal tax schemes across the United States.

Mr. Corcoran is admitted to the bars of New York and the District of Columbia, as well as numerous federal district courts.

Fred Crombie
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass, LLP

Fred Crombie is a trial attorney with Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass, LLP. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on financial and commercial disputes, tax controversy, corporate fiduciary matters, and trusts and estates. Before he joined Coblentz, Fred was a Trial Attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated a variety of tax controversies. The Department of Justice awarded Fred with three Outstanding Trial Attorney Awards and designated him as an E-Discovery Section Representative for the Court of Federal Claims Trial Section.

Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey
U.S. Court of Special Masters

Nora Beth Dorsey was appointed Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on January 14, 2013. She was designated Chief Special Master by the court to succeed Denise K. Vowell, effective September 1, 2015.

She graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a B.S. in Nursing in 1979, and she received her J.D. in 1991 from the University of Georgia School Of Law.

Special Master Dorsey served from 2005 until her appointment as director of the civil litigation defense team of Hancock Daniel Johnson & Nagel, P.C. in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to 2005 she worked in various personal injury and medical malpractice law firms. She is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Virginia, several U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

James D. Gette
Department of Justice

James D. Gette is the Principal Deputy Chief of the Natural Resources Section (NRS) in the United States Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. He manages an office of lawyers and support professionals, who are responsible for a diverse and extensive docket of primarily defensive litigation involving a broad range of land and resource management statutes, Fifth Amendment takings claims involving real property, and challenges brought by Native American Indians and Indian tribes relating the United States’ Indian trust responsibility. NRS handles cases in virtually every U.S. district court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and in state courts, and represents virtually every Federal executive branch agency. While at ENRD, Mr. Gette has also served as Acting Chief of the Natural Resources Section, Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, and Trial Attorney. Before joining ENRD, he was part of the Civil Division’s tobacco litigation trial team. This historic civil RICO case sought relief from the tobacco industry stemming from a decades-long scheme to deny the adverse health effects of smoking, to design intentionally addictive products, and to attract youth smokers. Mr. Gette is a graduate of the Law School of the University of Chicago. He began his legal career in private practice with the firm that is today DLA Piper. Before joining the Department of Justice, he spent several years as an attorney and federal negotiator at the United States Department of Education, and was also the Director of the Office of the President at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. From 2008-2011 he served on the Board of Governors of the United States Court of Federal Claims Bar Association and was Chair of its Law and Practice Education Committee from 2008-2009. In 2007 Mr. Gette was the recipient of the Attorney General’s John Marshal Award for Participation in Litigation, and in 2009 he received a Commander’s Award for Civilian Service from the Department of the Army.

William J. Grimaldi
Department of Justice

William J. GrimaldiBill Grimaldi is a Senior Trial Counsel with the National Courts Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch, United States Department of Justice. As a member the section’s Bid Protest Team, Bill handles procurement protests. He is also a member of the section’s Appellate Team, handling appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Additionally, he represents the government in a variety of claims before the United States Court of Federal Claims. Bill joined the Department of Justice in 2009 after serving as a law clerk to The Honorable Thomas C. Wheeler of the Court of Federal Claims. He began his legal career with the government contracts group of Wiley Rein LLP. Bill holds a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, and a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Judge Marian Blank Horn
Court of Federal Claims

Judge Marian Blank Horn was twice appointed by the President and twice confirmed by the United States Senate as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims. She is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University and Fordham University School of Law. Previously, Judge Horn served as Acting Solicitor and Principal Deputy Solicitor, Associate Solicitor for General Law, and Deputy Associate Solicitor for Surface Mining at the United States Department of Interior. She also served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Procurement and Financial Incentives, including a major synthetic fuels initiative, Senior Attorney for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and Litigation Attorney at the United States Department of Energy. Judge Horn is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School and also teaches in domestic and foreign exchange programs on topics including court management, negotiations and alternative dispute resolution, trial practice, administrative law, government contracts, and the juggling act for professional women. Previous experience includes private law practice, Assistant District Attorney in New York City, project manager for a government sponsored "Study of Alternatives to Conventional Criminal Adjudication," member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow.

Voris E. Johnson
Department of Justice

Voris E. Johnson, Jr. ("Vo"), is a Senior Trial Attorney in the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division. Mr. Johnson joined the Department of Justice in February 2007 as a Trial Attorney in the Vaccine Litigation section, and has handled all facets of litigation under the Vaccine Act, including fact and expert evidentiary hearings, negotiation of settlements, appeals at the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and issues related to attorneys' fees and costs. From mid-2013 to mid-2016, he also served as Assistant Director of the Vaccine Litigation section. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Johnson was in private practice for nine years at a large firm in Atlanta, Georgia, where he litigated toxic t01i, commercial, health care, and real estate matters. Mr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and his Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law in 1998. He is admitted to practice in Georgia and the District of Columbia.

Paul F. Khoury
Wiley Rein, LLP

Paul F. KhouryPaul is a partner at Wiley Rein, LLP, where has worked since he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1986. He counsels and represents clients in all aspects of the government contracting process. He is regularly involved in litigation on behalf of government contractors, representing clients in bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC); claims and disputes under the contract Disputes Act at the Boards of Contract Appeals and the COFC; civil false claims actions; and prime/sub disputes in federal district courts and state courts.

Paul was also chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee from 1998 to 2014. He obtained commutation of a client's death sentence from Virginia Governor George Allen three hours before the scheduled execution in a highly publicized pro bono capital habeas corpus case.

Sharon Larkin
Larkin Ferrell LLP

Sharon LarkinSharon Larkin has over 20 years of experience handling complex government contract matters. She is a Chambers USA ranked lawyer, highlighted in the Bid Protest Spotlight as one of the premier bid protest lawyers. In addition to bid protests, she represents government contractors in the full spectrum of procurement matters, including claims litigation, prime/sub disputes, and dispute resolution – areas where she has unique insights from her prior role in adjudicating contract disputes. Sharon litigates matters before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Court of Federal Claims, Federal Circuit, District Courts, Boards of Contract Appeals, and other tribunals. She also counsels clients on how to avoid litigation, collaborates with clients to develop strategies to avoid or mitigate risk, and guides clients through the contractual and regulatory maze of compliance to minimize their exposure to litigation. She handles matters for clients covering all aspects of the procurement process, from formation to performance to close out. Sharon represents both large and small contractors, and her particular areas of industry focus include health care and biotechnology, aerospace and defense, information technology, and construction.

Sharon takes a pragmatic approach to solving the legal problems of her clients, drawing on her years of law firm and government experience. Most notably, she spent 12 years at the GAO as a Judge on the GAO Contract Appeals Board and an Assistant General Counsel in the Procurement Law Division. During her time at the GAO, she heard more than 1,600 cases (protests and appeals), issued more than 425 public decisions, presided over more than 40 hearings and trials, and conducted more than 65 alternative dispute resolution sessions. Sharon uses this experience to formulate effective strategies and develop creative solutions to resolve legal disputes in ways that best achieve the business objectives of her clients.

Sharon chaired the ABA Section of Public Contract Law from 2013 to 2014, when she led the Section through the federal government shutdown. She is a frequent lecturer on government contracting matters and has taught numerous classes on contract formation and administration, litigation practice, and alternative dispute resolution.

Altom Maglio
Maglio Christopher & Toale, PA

Altom MaglioAltom Maglio founded Maglio Christopher & Toale, P.A. in 1999. Today he serves as the managing partner of the firm. The firm actively represents clients in complex litigation in the Court of Federal Claims and in courts throughout the nation. Altom leads his firm's vaccine injury practice before the United States Court of Federal Claims, and is a past president of Court's Bar Association. Over the past decade, his firm has been very active before the Court representing hundreds of petitioners in seeking compensation for vaccine injuries. In addition to his Court of Federal Claims work, he currently litigates metal on metal hip replacement cases nationally on behalf of injured patients.

Captain Narayan Nair, M.D.
Health Resources and Service Administration

Captain Narayan Nair, M.D. is the Director for the Division of Injury Compensation Programs, in the Health Resources and Service Administration. He is a Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Saint Louis University and his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1990, he was Commissioned as an Officer in the United States Public Health Service. In that role he has served in a variety of assignments. He has worked in clinical practice at a Community Health Center in Pennsylvania and an Indian Health Service Hospital in Arizona providing care to medically underserved patients. In addition, he has worked in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General addressing issues related to disaster preparedness. Prior to joining the Division of Injury Compensation Programs, he was a medical team leader at the FDA working on drug safety. Also at FDA, he also led a team of physicians and scientists tasked with advancing development of countermeasures for biologic, radiation, and chemical threat agents. As a PHS officer, he has deployed as part of the medical response for Hurricanes Katrina and Isaac, and in support of President Reagan's Funeral, as well as the Inaugurations of Presidents Bush and Obama.

Special Master Katherine E. Oler
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Katherine E. Oler was appointed as a Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on November 29, 2017. She graduated cum laude from Wellesley College in 1993 with a degree in English and Political Science and received her J. D. in 1996 from the Boston University School of Law.

Prior to her appointment to the Office of Special Masters, Ms. Oler served as an Air Force Judge Advocate where she primarily worked in the criminal litigation arena; Ms. Oler held positions as a first chair felony prosecutor, a defense attorney, and a trial judge. She retired from the Air Force as a colonel after 21 years of service. Before assuming her current duties, Ms. Oler was the Air Force's Chief Prosecutor and Chief Government Appellate Counsel.

Ms. Oler is admitted to the bars of Florida, the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the United States Supreme Court.

Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker
McGeorge School of Law

Elizabeth Rindskopf ParkerElizabeth Rindskopf Parker served as the Executive Director of The State Bar of California from 2015-2017, and subsequently as consultant to the Executive Director. Dean Emerita at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, she served as dean from 2002-2012 and was instrumental in 2003 in creating the highly regarded Journal of National Security Law and Policy, now co-hosted by the law schools of Georgetown University and Syracuse University. Previously Dean Parker was the General Counsel for the University of Wisconsin System (1999-2002); General Counsel to the Central Intelligence Agency (1990-1995); Principal Deputy Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State (1989-1990); General Counsel, National Security Agency (1984-1989); and Acting Assistant Director (Mergers and Acquisitions) at the Federal Trade Commission.

Since 2013 Dean Parker has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit MITRE Corporation. In 2016 she was named as an inaugural member of the Intelligence Community Studies Board, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She has previously served on numerous of the Academy’s national security study committees, including the committee whose response to PPD-28 was published as Bulk Collection of Signals Intelligence: Technical Options (2015). She is also a former chair and current life-time Counselor to the Standing Committee on Law and National Security of the American Bar Association.

Previously Dean Parker served for three Directors of National Intelligence as a member of the DNI’s Senior Advisory Group (2009-2014). She has been a two term member of the Public Interest Declassification Board (2005-2013), appointed by President Bush and re-appointed by President Obama, and served two terms as the academic member of the International Judicial Relations Committee, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (2010-2015). She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Earlier in her career, Dean Parker served as the Executive Director of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc. (1973-1976), after handling civil rights and civil liberties litigation as a co-operating attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. and Emory Community Legal Services (1968-1973), a period in which she twice argued successfully in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Both her law (1968) and undergraduate (cum laude, 1964) degrees are from the University of Michigan.

Jeffrey S. Pop
Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates

Jeffrey S. PopJeffrey S. Pop established his law firm Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates, A Law Corporation, over 30 years ago in Beverly Hills, California. Mr. Pop has been practicing law since 1972. Mr. Pop is admitted to practice law in all of the Federal District Courts in California, California Superior Court, California Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals, United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Supreme Court.

Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates is active in litigating vaccine-related injuries in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Currently, our four (4) attorneys are handling approximately one hundred active cases and an equal number of potential cases. Statistically, approximately one half of the potential cases are rejected after medical review. Mr. Pop has been privileged to practice before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims since 2005.

Recently, Mr. Pop successfully argued the case of Contreras v. HHS in front of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Contreras v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., 844
F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2017).

Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates has expertise in catastrophic injury cases arising from actions based upon products liability, premise liability, and government liability as well as employment/labor law. Mr. Pop and his firm have won many meaningful large verdicts arising from difficult and complex cases.

Over the years, Mr. Pop has successfully argued cases in both State and Federal Appellate Courts. Some of the published cases where he has been the attorney of record and on appeal are: Great West v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204 (2001); Sutton v. Arco, 646 F.2d 407 (1981); Escatell v. County of San Diego, 76F.3d 385 (9th Cir. 1994); Miller v. U.S. Department of Transportation, 710 F.2d 656 (10111 Cir. 1983), and Bockrath v. Aldrich Chemical Co., 21 Cal.4th 71 (1999). In the Great West case, Mr. Pop represented Plaintiff Knudson at all levels of the Federal litigation and appeared before the United States Supreme Court in 2001 (Second Chair).

Catharine E. Reeves
Department of Justice

Catharine Reeves is Deputy Director of the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Branch of the Civil Division, where her primary responsibility is managing litigation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. After several years in private practice, she began her public service career with the Department of Justice in October 1990 as a Trial Attorney defending Vaccine Act cases. She has handled all aspects of Vaccine Act claims, including the litigation of complex scientific issues, negotiation of settlements, and appellate matters, both at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From January 1999 to September 2001, Ms. Reeves was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice's Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management, where she participated in the adjudication of background investigations, acted as a decision maker on personnel actions, and assisted with administration of the Attorney General's Honors Program. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Frostburg State University in 1982 and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School Of Law in 1985. She was admitted to practice in Maryland in 1985.

Harvey Rishikof
Temple Law School

Harvey RishikofHarvey Rishikof for 2018-19 will be a visiting professor of law at Temple Law School. Mr. Rishikof is involved in a number of legal-policy projects sponsored by the MITRE FFRDC, the MacArthur Foundation, the Center for Strategic International Studies, the Hewlett Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. He is the former Director Military Commissions and Convening Authority at DoD, and the co-chair of the ABA National Task Force on Cybersecurity and the Law. Most recently he was senior counsel at Crowell & Moring, dean of faculty at the National War College, and held a joint appointment at Drexel University in the law school and the iSchool, College of Information Science and Technology. His last government position was senior policy advisor to the director of national counterintelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Before joining the government he was at the National Defense University, National War College in Washington, D.C., where he served as professor of law and national security studies, and also chaired the department of national security strategy. He specializes in national security law international law, media, civil liberties, civilian/military relations, governmental process, and the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Rishikof’s career includes experiences in the private sector, academia and public service and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Law Institute. He is the chair of the advisory committee for the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, he also is on the Board of Visitors for the National Intelligence University, an advisor to the Harvard Journal on National Security, on the US Board of Wilton Park, a Visiting Distinguished Research fellow of the Center for Strategic Research at INSS at NDU, and also acts as outside director for Chicago, Bridge and Iron (CBI). As dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law, Bristol, Rhode Island (1999-2001), he introduced courses in national security law and the Constitution, in cooperation with the Naval War College. Rishikof was also legal counsel to the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1994-96), Mr. Rishikof, a former federal court of appeals law clerk in the Third Circuit for the Honorable Leonard I. Garth, served as chief of staff for the Chief Justice and was involved in general policy issues concerning the federal court system. In this capacity, he acted as liaison to the Executive Branch, Congress, the Federal Judicial Center and the Administrative Office of the United States Court. For a number of years he was a Tutor in Social Studies and the Government Department at Harvard University. He was in private practice in Boston with Hale and Dorr. Mr. Rishikof has authored many publications and monographs and co-edited a book, Patriots Debate (2012). His most recent book publication is “The National Security Enterprise: Navigating the Labyrinth,” (2009, 2nd ed 2017).

Alex Sadler
Morgan Lewis

Alex Sadler represents clients in complex tax controversies and litigation. He has litigated numerous tax cases in the US Tax Court, US Court of Federal Claims, and federal district and appellate courts. Alex was formerly a trial attorney with the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice, where he received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and the Tax Division’s Outstanding Attorney Award. He has served as chair and vice chair of the DC Bar’s Tax Audits and Litigation Committee and is listed in Chambers USA, Washingtonian Top Lawyers Guide, and Washington DC Super Lawyers.

J. Robert Sears
Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC

J. Robert SearsBob Sears represents clients in federal and state courts in complex civil matters. His primary focus is advocating for individuals and businesses in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. seeking compensation from the United States when it takes private land in Rails-to-Trails cases. He has practiced before the Court of Federal Claims for 16 years. For the seven years prior, he was Missouri’s Antitrust Counsel responsible for investigating and litigating antitrust cases and merger reviews for the Missouri Attorney General and the citizens of Missouri. Bob is an active volunteer and involved in local government serving two terms on the Kirkwood, MO City Counsel, past Park Board member and President, and immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Kirkwood.

Judge Loren A. Smith
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Judge Smith was appointed a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on July 11, 1985 and entered duty on September 12, 1985. He was designated Chief Judge on January 14, 1986. He graduated from Northwestern University, receiving a B.A. in 1966; he attended Northwestern University School of Law, receiving a J.D. in 1969.

Judge Smith formerly served as Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 1981 to 1985. During his tenure as Chairman, Judge Smith was a member of the President's Cabinet Councils on Legal Policy and on Management and Administration. He also served as the Chairman of the Council of Independent Regulatory Agencies. Judge Smith was Deputy Director of the Executive Branch Management Office of Presidential Transition from 1980-81; Chief Counsel, Reagan for President campaigns in 1976 and 1980; Professor of Law, Delaware Law School, 1976-1984; Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, 1974-75; Assistant to the Special Counsel to the President, 1973-74; General Attorney, Federal Communications Commission in 1973; and Consultant, Sidley & Austin, Chicago, 1972-73. Also in 1972 he served as host of a nightly radio talk show called What's Best for America? In 1970, he ran for Illinois General Assembly with the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune.APA-p>Judge Smith is author of the following: The Morality of Regulation, William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, 1998; The Aging of Administrative Law: The Administrative Conference Reaches Early Retirement, Arizona State Law Journal, 1998; Renovation of an Old Court, Federal Bar News and Journal, September 1993; A Spring Thaw in Estonia, The Washington Times, April 11, 1992; Administration: An Idea Whose Time May Have Passed, in The Fettered Presidency, eds. L. Gordon Crovitz & Jeremy A. Rabkin, 1989; Vision of the Exchange, William & Mary Law Review, 1986; Judicialization of the Administrative Process: The Fine Print, National Legal Center for the Public Interest, 1986; The End of the Constitution, 4 Detroit College of Law Review 1147 (1986); Judicialization: The Twilight of Administrative Law, 85 Duke L.J. 2, 1985; Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions, 7 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 61 (1984); Business, Buck+ACQ & Bull, The Corporation, The First Amendment & The Corrupt Practice of Law, 4 Delaware J. of Corporate Law 1, 1978. He is co-author of Black America and Organized Labor: A Fair Deal?, The Lincoln Institute for Research and Education (1979).

He is a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of Illinois; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit; United States Supreme Court; United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; United States Court of Federal Claims.

Judge Smith is an Honorary Member of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and was the recipient of their Judicial Honoree Award for 1997. He is also an Honorary Member of the University Club of Washington, D.C. where he serves as Chairman of the Centennial Committee. In 1991, he received the Club's Member of the Year Award. Judge Smith is chairman of the WETA Community Advisory Board. At the 1997 National Property Rights Conference, he was presented with The Ronald Reagan Public Service Award. In 1993, Judge Smith was presented with the Presidential Medal by The Catholic University of America. He served as the University of Denver College of Law's first Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence. In 1995, Judge Smith was presented with the Allen Chair from the University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VA; an Honorary L.L.D. from John Marshall Law School, Atlanta, GA; and, the Romanian Medal of Justice, presented by the Romanian Minister of Justice. He was awarded an Honorary L.L.D. from Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio in 1996 and Campbell University, The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Buies Creek, NC in 1997.

Judge Smith is Adjunct Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law; Washington College of Law, American University; Georgetown University Law Center; and Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. He taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at The International School of Law (now George Mason University School of Law), 1973-74. Judge Smith has served as an international elections observer in Chile and Serbia. He has spoken and appeared on TV and radio in Estonia, The Republic of South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Italy, Germany, England, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine on behalf of the United States Information Agency and other groups.

Suzanne Spaulding
Center for Strategic & International Studies

Suzanne SpauldingSuzanne Spaulding served as under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she was effectively the CEO, with a rank equivalent to a four-star general, managing a $3 billion budget and a workforce of 18,000, charged with strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure. She led the transformation of budget, acquisition, analytic, and operational processes to bring greater agility and unity of effort to an organization that had experienced dramatic growth through acquisition of new entities and missions over several years. Throughout her career, Ms. Spaulding has advised CEOs, boards, and government policymakers on how to manage complex security risks, across all industry sectors. At DHS, she led the development and implementation of national policies for infrastructure protection, including support for National Security Special Events at stadiums and other public venues and development of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan; worked with industry to establish CEO-level coordinating councils in the electric and financial services sectors; and chaired the federal government’s Aviation Cybersecurity Initiative to identify and address key cyber vulnerabilities in the national aviation system. She worked with many foreign governments on critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, including negotiating agreements with China and Israel, and led security regulation of the chemical industry; biometrics and identity management; emergency communications; and the Federal Protective Service. As a member of the Board of Directors for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), Ms. Spaulding helped oversee the complex and unprecedented effort to deploy the first nation-wide broadband network for public safety. She is currently on the Board of Directors for George Washington University’s Center for Cyber & Homeland Security; the Advisory Board of Harvard University’s Defending Digital Democracy project; and the faculty of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Following the attacks of 9/11, Ms. Spaulding worked with key critical infrastructure sectors as they reviewed their security posture and advised the CEOs of the Business Roundtable. In 2002, she was appointed by Governor Mark Warner of Virginia to the Secure Commonwealth Panel to advise the governor and the legislature regarding preparedness issues. She was managing partner of the Harbour Group; a principal in the Bingham Consulting Group; and of counsel to Bingham McCutchen, LLP.

Ms. Spaulding has served in Republican and Democratic administrations and on both sides of the aisle in Congress. She was general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and minority staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also spent six years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she was legal adviser to the director’s Nonproliferation Center. She was a member of the CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, which developed a bipartisan national cybersecurity strategy in advance of the 2008 election; executive director of the National Commission on Terrorism and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction; and a consultant on the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. She is a member of the Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Group; former chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security; founder of the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force; and was a member of Harvard University’s Long-Term Legal Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terror. Ms. Spaulding has convened and participated in numerous academic and professional advisory panels, been a frequent commentator in public media, and often testified before Congress.

Rob Stewart
Department of Justice

Rob Stewart is an Assistant Chief in the Court of Federal Claims Section of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. He joined the Department of Justice through the Honors Program in 1987 and has litigated tax cases in the Court of Federal Claims for 26 years. He also served as the president of the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association.

Justine Walters
Department of Justice

Justine Walters is a Trial Attorney in the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division. In this position, she serves as lead counsel for the Secretary of Health and Human Services (respondent) in cases filed under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. Ms. Walters joined the Department of Justice as a Trial Attorney in 2010. Prior to that time, she was in private practice at a large law firm in Washington, D.C., where she litigated patent cases. Ms. Walters also previously worked as a paralegal at the Department of Justice in the Vaccine Litigation section from 2002 to 2007. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Georgetown University in 2002, and her Juris Doctor degree from George Mason University School of Law in 2008. Ms. Walters is admitted to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Judge Thomas C. Wheeler
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Judge Thomas C. WheelerJudge Wheeler was appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 24, 2005. He received his Juris Doctor Degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1973, and his undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1970. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, and of the American Bar Association's Public Contracts and Litigation Sections.

From 1973 to 2005, Judge Wheeler was in private practice in Washington, D.C. He was an associate and partner in the law firm of Pettit & Martin until 1995, and then moved as a partner to the law firm of Piper & Marbury. Through mergers with other firms, Piper & Marbury became known as Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe, and later as DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. During his years in private practice, Judge Wheeler specialized in Government Contract claims, litigation, and counseling, representing a wide variety of large and small business clients. He appeared before many agency boards of contract appeals, the United States Court of Federal Claims and its predecessors, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a number of United States District Courts, and the Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office). Judge Wheeler is married, and has two grown children. Judge Wheeler is active in his Church and community, and he previously served for many years as a youth soccer coach and referee. His outside interests include skiing, photography, writing, softball, and hiking.

   

   

News

11.14.2018
Thank you for attending the 29th Annual Judicial Conference. We look forward to seeing you at the next conference!

09.25.2018
Parking can be difficult to find near the courthouse. BestParking.com can be used to find available parking spaces nearby. Put in the court’s address, the date of the conference, or any dates you require parking, and several nearby parking garages with open parking spaces will be displayed.

08.22.2018
Welcome to the website for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims 2018 Judicial Conference. We will update this site continually with the latest information.

   

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