Workshops

Careers in the Federal Government

Panelists:

• Jonathan Cannon, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor, General Faculty; Director, Center for Environmental and Land Use Law
• George K. Yin, University of Virginia School of Law, Edwin S. Cohen Distinguished Professor of Law & Taxation; Class of 1966 Research Professor
• Amy Young, Director of Strategic Planning and Senior Advisor in Charge of Counter Terrorism Programs, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), U.S. Department of Justice

Moderator:

• Christopher Sprigman, University of Virginia School of Law, Associate Professor of Law

Jonathan Cannon

Jonathan Cannon, director of the University of Virginia School of Law's Center for Environmental and Land Use Law, joined the Law School faculty in 1998 from the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as general counsel (1995-98) and assistant administrator for administration and resources management (1992-95). Prior to his work with the EPA, Mr. Cannon was in the private practice of environmental law, served as an adjunct professor at Washington and Lee Law School, where he taught environmental law, and was a lecturer at UVA Law.

George K. Yin

George Yin joined the University of Virginia law faculty in 1994 after visiting from the University of Florida. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation, one of the most influential tax positions in the country.

Mr. Yin taught school, was director of a child care center, and worked as a computer programmer prior to attending law school. After law school, he clerked for a federal court, practiced law in D.C., and then served as tax counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee before joining the law faculty at Florida. He also has been a visiting professor at NYU Law School, Pennsylvania, and Brigham Young.

While at the Joint Committee, Mr. Yin assisted the Congress on a number of tax bills, including the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. In addition, the staff expanded its ability to perform macroeconomic analyses of tax legislation and issued its first such analysis in connection with the House Ways and Means Committee's consideration of JGTRRA. The staff also completed a major report setting forth options to improve tax compliance and reform tax expenditures.

Mr. Yin previously coordinated for the Senate Finance Committee a major project to reform and simplify the tax laws dealing with corporate-shareholder transactions, including corporate mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations. Between 1994-99, he was reporter to the American Law Institute's federal tax project concerning the income taxation of private business enterprises, such as closely held corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. He has served as a consultant to a number of organizations, including the ALI, the Department of Treasury, the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation, the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service, and the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.

Amy Young

Amy Young is an attorney with the Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT). Ms. Young has held several positions at OPDAT: Director of Strategic Planning, Senior Advisor in Charge of Counter Terrorism Programs, and Acting Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining DOJ, Ms. Young served from 1999 to 2002 as an Office Director in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State.

Ms. Young joined the federal government in 1992, pursuing a career in development, particularly democracy building and criminal justice reform. Serving as Senior Policy Advisor for Democracy at the United States Information Agency (USIA) from 1992 to 1994, Ms. Young helped develop technical assistance programs for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states. Ms. Young then joined the Center for Democracy and Governance at the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), and from 1994 to 1999, served as the Center's Senior Advisor both for Elections and for Rule of Law.

Working in a private, nonprofit group after graduation set the direction for Ms. Young's career in public service. Ms. Young founded and served as Executive Director of the International Human Rights Law Group from 1978 to 1991 (now named Global Rights) where she pioneered using international and national law and legal strategies to enforce human rights. Ms. Young also furthered the concept of monitoring electoral processes in burgeoning democracies to promote the internationally recognized right to genuine and periodic elections, organizing numerous missions around the world.

Ms. Young has taught courses and clinics in the field of human rights as an adjunct faculty member at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the University of Virginia School of Law, the George Washington National Law Center and American University, Washington School of Law. She holds a J.D. from the Washington College of Law at American University and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Careers in International Public Interest Law

Panelists:

• Mark Bromley, Director of External Relations and Policy, Global Rights
• Jason Dzubow, Mensah, Butler & Dzubow, PLLC
• Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

Moderator:

• Deena Hurwitz, University of Virginia School of Law, Director, Human Rights Program and International Human Rights Law Clinic

Mark Bromley

Mr. Bromley supervises Global Rights' relations with governmental institutions and local partners around the world. He also provides legal and technical support to in-country human rights programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. He is also charged with regular analysis of developments within the United Nations human rights system, including the production of materials for regular sessions of the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Mr. Bromley also conducts research on transitional justice issues and legal advocacy in support of the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia and reviews international law standards in legal briefs filed by Global Rights, as amicus curiae, in human rights cases before United States courts.

In 2001-2002, Mr. Bromley was a Foreign Policy Fellow at the office of Senator Russell Feingold, U.S. Senate. He staffed the Senator's work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his Chairmanship of the Africa Subcommittee. Mr. Bromley holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.S.F.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has lectured and published on human rights and international law issues. Mr. Bromley's publications include Supporting Reconciliation and Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina through Legal Outreach and Human Rights and Access to Justice in Post-Conflict Environments.

Mr. Bromley is proficient in French and Japanese, has a working knowledge of Spanish, and basic skills in Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian.

Jason Dzubow

Mr. Dzubow, a partner at Mensah, Butler & Dzubow, PLLC, is admitted to practice law in the federal and state courts of Washington, D.C. and Maryland, numerous federal appellate courts, all Immigration Courts in the United States, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Mr. Dzubow is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Capital Area Immigrant Rights (CAIR) Coalition.

Mr. Dzubow received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center where he was Senior Notes and Comments Editor of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. He has published articles in the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, the Hispanic Law Journal (University of Texas Law School), and the Temple University Law School Journal of Political and Civil Rights. Mr. Dzubow received his Bachelor's Degree, summa cum laude, from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Prior to joining Mensah, Butler & Dzubow, PLLC, Mr. Dzubow clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia. For his work at the Arlington Immigration Court, Mr. Dzubow received the Department of Justice Outstanding Performance Award. Mr. Dzubow also worked as an immigration attorney at Catholic Community Services in New Jersey and as a trial attorney for Bode & Grenier, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Dzubow was born in Philadelphia in 1969 and grew up in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Prior to law school, he worked for the Refugee Assistance Program in Philadelphia, helping immigrants and refugees find jobs. More recently, he lived in Nicaragua where he studied Spanish and volunteered for the Sisters of Charity (Mother Theresa's organization). He has also lived in Jerusalem and traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia, and Central America. He speaks Spanish.

Paula Ettelbrick

Paula L. Ettelbrick is the Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a U.S.-based global organization that engages in and supports global sexual and gender rights advocacy. A lawyer by profession, Ms. Ettelbrick has a 20-year history in leadership positions within lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy non-profits. She was the legal director at Lambda Legal Defense, policy director at National Center for Lesbian Rights, legislative counsel for the Empire State Pride Agenda, and family policy director at the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Ms. Ettelbrick has written, lectured and presented extensively about the civil and constitutional rights of lesbians and gay men. She is an adjunct professor of law at New York University Law School and Barnard College, where she teaches Sexuality and the Law. She has also taught at Columbia University Law School, Wayne State University Law School, University of Michigan Law School, and New York Law School.

Careers in Lobbying

Panelists:

• William E. Moschella, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
• Tom O'Brien, Thelen Reid & Priest
• Nancy Williams, Schramm, Williams & Associates, Inc.

Moderator:

• John C. Harrison, University of Virginia School of Law, David Lurton Massee, Jr., Professor of Law

William E. Moschella

William E. Moschella received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1990. Following graduation, he spent seven years in a variety of positions in the office of Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), while attending George Mason University Law School in the evenings. From 1997 to 2003, he held a number of positions on Capitol Hill, including Counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform, General Counsel to the House Committee on Rules, Chief Investigative Counsel to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and, finally, Chief Legislative Counsel and Parliamentarian to the House Committee on the Judiciary. He was then nominated by President Bush to be Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 9, 2003.

As Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, Mr. Moschella served as the legislative liaison between the Department of Justice and the United States Congress -- in effect, the ? face and voice? of the Department on Capitol Hill. Along with representing the interests and opinions of the Department before Congress, he was responsible for internally coordinating and approving all testimony delivered by Department witnesses before Congressional committees, reviewing legislation proposed by the House and Senate and other departments, along with the Office of Management and Budget and other executive branch agencies, and overseeing an office of approximately 25 staff members.

In October 2006, Mr. Moschella was appointed Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, the top assistant to the Deputy Attorney General.

Tom O'Brien

Tom O'Brien is an attorney with the law firm Thelen Reid & Priest and specializes in legislative and regulatory matters affecting the food and horticultural industries. Before joining the firm, Mr. O'Brien spent three years on the staff of Governor Gray Davis as the deputy director of California's Washington, D.C., office and six years as an appointee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he was the associate administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. He also served as an attorney in the Office of White House Counsel. A native of Vacaville, California, Mr. O'Brien practiced law in Sacramento prior to his government service and earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis.

Nancy Williams

Ms. Williams has 30 years of experience in Washington, including service in the General Counsel's office for both the Federal Energy Administration (FEA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Ms. Williams also served for five years as the majority counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Power.

Ms. Williams joined Schramm, Williams & Associates, Inc. in 1989. At the firm, Ms. Williams has handled a wide variety of projects, including administrative law matters; legislation involving water rights law and federal agricultural commodity programs; environmental issues; international trade with respect to agricultural products; and energy issues.

Ms. Williams holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Denver.

Serving the Public in the Private Sector

Panelists:

• Angela Ciolfi, JustChildren Project, Legal Aid Justice Center
• Rhonda Quagliana, Charlottesville Private Criminal Defense Attorney, St. John, Bowling & Lawrence LLP
• Robert N. Sayler, Senior Counsel, Covington & Burling

Moderator:

• Earl Dudley, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor, General Faculty; Director, Graduate Program for Judges

Angela Ciolfi

Angela Ciolfi is a staff attorney and the Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Fellow at the JustChildren Project in the Legal Aid Justice Center, Charlottesville, Virginia. She received her B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 2000, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2003. While at UVA Law, she received the Oliver White Hill Law Student Pro Bono Award, served on the Virginia Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. From 2003 to 2004, she clerked for the Honorable Reginald C. Lindsay, District of Massachusetts.

Rhonda Quagliana

Rhonda Quagliana is a partner in the Charlottesville, Virginia law firm of St. John, Bowling & Lawrence. Dr. Quagliana received her bachelor's degree from Tulane University and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. She graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. She initially entered private practice concentrating mainly in the area of insurance defense. Shortly thereafter, she began developing a practice in the area of criminal law. She has handled high profile criminal matters including capital cases and has an active criminal practice in state and federal courts in Virginia.

Robert N. Sayler

Robert N. Sayler has practiced at Covington & Burling since graduating from Harvard Law School in 1965; he became a Partner in 1973. In the past decade, his trial experience has focused on intellectual property litigation, administrative litigation, antitrust litigation, complex litigation, and cases where he has served as lead counsel for successful insurance policyholders in billion dollar-plus insurance coverage disputes for asbestos, DES, environmental clean-up, and breast implant liabilities. Those for whom he has served as trial counsel include Armstrong World Industries, Boeing, Pittston, Dow Corning, 3M, Monsanto, Exxon, Procter & Gamble, ITT, National Medical Enterprises, and the National Football League.

Mr. Sayler is active in the American Bar Association, having served as chair of the Litigation Section, as a member of the Coalition for Justice and the Ad Hoc Committee on State Justice Initiatives. He was an ABA Presidential Emissary, and he recently served a three-year term on the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. He is a member of the CPR D.C. Panel of Distinguished Arbitration Neutrals and also a member of the CPR Commission on the Future of Arbitration.

The 2005 Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers named Mr. Sayler a leading lawyer in the nation: "Winning phenomenal respect across the board, Robert Sayler has an enormous depth of experience because he was there when it all started. He has had a fantastic career litigating billion-dollar coverage disputes for policyholders and is an absolutely top-flight trial lawyer and a wonderful oral advocate." Also recognized as a preeminent commercial litigator, Chambers noted that "he has carved a practice of exemplary diversity that takes in IP and antitrust litigation in strong measure." Clients speak of him as "a mast you can lash yourself to in the most stormy of seas," praising his "serenity and worldly wisdom." In June 2000 and in April 1997, in triennial surveys, Mr. Sayler was named by the National Law Journal as one of the nation's 100 most influential lawyers and the country's preeminent insurance coverage lawyer. In May 1997, he was named a Commercial Prosecutor of the Year and among the dozen Litigators of the Year by International Commercial Litigation. In 1999 he was named as one of the District of Columbia's Top 10 Civil Litigators. In 2005, Law Dragon named Mr. Sayler one of the "500 Leading Lawyers in America" and called him the "Godfather of insurance coverage." Mr. Sayler is featured in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation.

Mr. Sayler is a past president of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society in Washington, and he is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation. In 1995, he was the John Ewald Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School, where he continues to teach advocacy and insurance law.

Mr. Sayler has authored dozens of articles and book chapters on insurance coverage issues, ADR, civility, trial strategies, and oral advocacy skills.

Careers in Prosecution and Defense

Anatomy of a Murder Trial

This workshop will focus on the capital murder trials Commonwealth of Virginia v. Brent Simmons and United States v. Brent Simmons, from the perspective of Mr. Simmons' counsel and the prosecutors.

Panelists:

• The Hon. John L. Brownlee, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
• The Hon. Marsha L. Garst, Commonwealth Attorney for Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg, Virginia
• John C. Holloran, Esq., private practitioner in Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Christopher K. Kowalczuk, Esq., private practitioner in Roanoke, Virginia

Moderator:

• William F. Gould, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

John L. Brownlee

John L. Brownlee was appointed United States Attorney by President George W. Bush on October 16, 2001. As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Brownlee is responsible for the prosecution of violations of federal law within the district and with the civil representation of federal agencies.

Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Brownlee was an associate attorney for the Roanoke-based law firm Woods, Rogers. He has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., and law clerk to U.S. District Judge Sam Wilson in Abingdon and Roanoke. Mr. Brownlee is a member of the American Legion, Post 3, in Roanoke, and lectures on trial advocacy at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Mr. Brownlee received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Washington and Lee University in 1987 and his law degree from the College of William and Mary in 1994. Prior to entering law school, Mr. Brownlee served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army and successfully completed the Army's Airborne and Ranger programs. He is currently a major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army Reserve.

Marsha L. Garst

Marsha L. Garst took office as the Commonwealth's Attorney for Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg in 2002, where she has been praised for streamlining the office and for aiding crime victims.

She has served as the co-chair of the local Bar Association, president of the Pilot Club (which aids brain-damaged individuals), and has been a member of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Criminal Justice Board, the Weed and Seed Steering Committee, and the Harrisonburg Domestic Violence Task Force.

She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and George Mason Law School (where she was a Dean's Scholar and Business Editor of the Law Review).

John C. Holloran

John C. Holloran is a solo practitioner specializing in Criminal Defense and Personal Injury. Mr. Holloran graduated from George Mason Law School in 1985 and was an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Fairfax County until 1988. After working as a commercial litigator with Miles & Stockbridge until 1991, he moved to Harrisonburg where he was a partner in the firm of Moyer & Holloran for seven years until returning to solo practice.

He has tried over 100 felony jury trials and countless misdemeanors. He is a Member and former Chair of the VTLA Criminal Law section; Member and former VACDL board member; current President of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Bar and Chair of their Criminal Defense section.

Christopher K. Kowalczuk

Chris Kowalczuk practices criminal law in federal and state courts in Southwest Virginia. Mr. Kowalczuk has been the lead trial counsel for 8 capital defendants, with no death sentences. Mr. Kowalczuk received his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in 1984, and his law degree from Washington & Lee University in 1994. Mr. Kowalczuk resides in Roanoke, Virginia.