Components with More Than 100 Attorneys

ANTITRUST DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 345
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 19
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/atr
Locations: Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco

The Antitrust Division is responsible for promoting and protecting the operation of the free market system by enforcing the federal antitrust laws. The majority of the Division’s attorneys are employed in the following ten components and in the Division’s seven field offices (approximate number of attorneys in each component/office is indicated in parentheses):

1. Appellate Section (10)

• represents the Division in all appeals to U.S. Courts of Appeals and, in
  conjunction with the Solicitor General’s Office, handles appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court
• files amicus briefs in selected private antitrust cases

2. Foreign Commerce Section (10)

• develops Division policy on issues of trade and international antitrust
  enforcement
• helps administer trade laws and assess competitive aspects of U.S. trade policy
• serves as liaison with international organizations, including antitrust
  enforcement agencies of the European communities, as well as other countries

3. Legal Policy Section (10)

• provides analyses of complex antitrust matters and long-range planning
  projects and programs of interest to the Assistant Attorney General
• conducts studies and makes recommendations relating to Division enforcement policies
• handles the Division’s legislative program

4. Litigation I Section (20)

• assesses the economic impact of proposed mergers in unregulated industries and acts to clear the proposed merger, negotiate a restructuring of the proposal, or file suit to block the merger
• investigates and prosecutes civil non-merger cases in assigned commodity areas
• areas of specific expertise include: healthcare; insurance; pulp, paper & timber; photography and film; appliances; flat glass; food products; and cosmetics

5. Litigation II Section (30)

• assesses the economic impact of proposed mergers in unregulated industries and acts to clear the proposed merger, negotiate a restructuring of the proposal, or file suit to block the merger
  
• investigates and prosecutes civil non-merger cases in assigned commodity areas
  
• areas of specific expertise include: defense; metals and mining; avionics and aeronautics; aircraft engines; waste; highway/road construction; and banking

6. Litigation III Section (25)

• assesses the economic impact of proposed mergers in unregulated industries and acts to clear the proposed merger, negotiate a restructuring of the proposal, or file suit to block the merger
  
• investigates and prosecutes civil non-merger cases in assigned commodity areas
• areas of specific expertise include: music; movies; advertising; performing arts; sports and recreation; publishing; toys and games; newspapers; and radio and television
  

7. National Criminal Enforcement Section (15)

• handles criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging investigations and cases, including nationwide and international price-fixing conspiracies
  

8. Networks and Technology Section (25)

• responsible for civil enforcement and advocacy in the computer software,
  computer services, and financial market industries, and for monitoring regulatory and structural changes in these industries
  

9. Telecommunications and Media Section (30)

• investigates and litigates civil violations of antitrust laws in the communications industry, including telecommunication services and equipment, and cable and satellite programming
• participates in proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission

10. Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section (30)

• prosecutes all civil violations, including mergers, in several major industries that are or have been subject to government regulation (e.g., airlines, railroads), and in assigned commodity areas, including agricultural crops, seeds, livestock, chemicals, and oil field services
• intervenes in adversarial proceedings before federal regulatory agencies

11. Field Offices (125) (approx. 10 to 20 in each of the seven field offices)

• handle criminal investigations and prosecutions (e.g., bid-rigging or fraud by contractors)

top

CIVIL DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 730
No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 21
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/civil/home.html
Locations: Washington, D.C.

The Civil Division represents the United States, its departments and agencies, Members of Congress, Cabinet officers and other federal employees in civil litigation. The majority of the Division's attorneys are employed in the following six components (approximate number of attorneys in each component is indicated in parentheses):

1. Commercial Litigation Branch (280)

• prosecutes claims for recovery of monies fraudulently secured or improperly diverted from the U.S. Treasury (e.g., health care or defense contract fraud)
• defends the Nation's international trade policy (e.g., exclusion of "slave" labor merchandise)
• represents the interests of the U.S. in major contract disputes (e.g., cancellation of the A-12 stealth aircraft contract and complex savings and loan litigation)
• defends and asserts the Government's contract and patent rights
• protects the Government's financial and commercial interests in the U.S.and under foreign treaties

2. Federal Programs Branch (110)

• litigates on behalf of federal agencies, the President, Cabinet officers and other Government officials
• defends against constitutional challenges to federal statutes (e.g., Line Item Veto Act and Brady Act)
• defends suits to overturn a wide range of Government policies and programs and defends attacks on legality of Government decisions

3. Torts Branch (155)

• represents the United States in suits where monetary judgments are sought for damages resulting from negligent or wrongful acts (e.g., admiralty and aviation tort litigation, medical malpractice, toxic tort litigation)
• handles actions involving injury or damage to Government property
• represents federal officials in suits arising from official acts
• handles claims for injuries caused by childhood vaccines and exposure to radiation from Government nuclear testing

4. Office of Consumer Litigation (30)

• through civil and criminal cases, enforces the Nation's consumer protection laws and defends federal agencies that administer consumer protection laws (e.g., food and drug laws, including generic drug manufacturing and tobacco product advertising, and product safety laws)

5. Office of Immigration Litigation (85)

• conducts civil trial and appellate litigation under the immigration and nationality laws (e.g., asylum cases, criminal and terrorist alien litigation and employer sanctions)
• defends against challenges to the Government's immigration policy and
  enforcement actions

6. Appellate Staff (60)

• handles appeals of cases from all of the Division's branches and offices and from various administrative agencies
• drafts briefs and presents oral arguments in the U.S. Courts of Appeals
• prepares documents for the U.S. Supreme Court, including petitions for certiorari and briefs on the merits

top

CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 350
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 10
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/crt
Location: Washington, D.C.

The Civil Rights Division is the primary institution within the Federal Government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, family status, disability, religion, and national origin. The majority of the Division's attorneys are employed in the following ten components (approximate number of attorneys in each component is indicated in parentheses):

1. Appellate Section (20)

• handles civil rights cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and, in cooperation with the Solicitor General, in the Supreme Court (e.g., defends the constitutionality of challenged civil rights statutes)

• coordinates the enforcement by federal agencies of various civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance
• investigates complaints of discrimination by recipients of funds from the Department of Justice

• prosecutes violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes, usually involving the deprivation of personal liberties which either cannot be, or are not, sufficiently addressed by state or local authorities (e.g., hate crimes, police brutality, slavery, church arson, etc.)

• enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure access to, and nondiscrimination by, private entities (e.g., hotels, theaters, stores) and state and local governments (e.g., courts, prisons) and to combat employment discrimination by state and local governments
• coordinates federal implementation of statutes prohibiting disability discrimination, issues regulations and architectural standards

• enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination against students on the basis of race, gender, national origin, language proficiency or disability (e.g., enforces court orders requiring desegregation and initiates litigation such as the Virginia Military Institute and Citadel cases)

• enforces, against state and local government employers, the federal laws prohibiting employment practices that discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, religion and national origin (e.g., initiates litigation challenging hiring/testing practices of police and fire departments as discriminatory against minorities and women)
• responsible for representing federal agencies in litigation challenging the lawfulness of affirmative action contracting programs, actions taken pursuant to Executive Order 11246 (prohibiting employment discrimination by federal contractors) and similar programs

• enforces federal laws which prohibit discrimination in all types of housing transactions, lending and places of public accommodation (e.g., investigates allegations of housing discrimination and initiates litigation in appropriate cases)

• investigates and prosecutes allegations of national origin and citizenship status discrimination in employment (e.g., protects the rights of work authorized individuals who face discrimination because they look or sound "foreign" or are not citizens)

• enforces federal statutes governing: conditions of institutional confinement, access to reproductive health facilities and places of religious worship and law enforcement misconduct (e.g., investigates abuse and neglect in nursing homes, and investigates allegations of systemic problems – use of excessive force, false arrest, etc. – in law enforcement agencies)

• enforces statutes designed to safeguard the right to vote of racial and language minorities, disabled and illiterate persons, and others (e.g., defends constitutionality of remedial redistricting plans)

top

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 425
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 8
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/criminal
Location: Washington, D.C.

The Criminal Division develops, enforces and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws, except those specifically assigned to other divisions. The majority of the Division's attorneys are employed in the following 15 components (approximate number of attorneys in each component is indicated in parentheses):

1. Appellate Section (25)

• prepares briefs and argues Division cases in U.S. Courts of Appeals and drafts briefs and certiorari petitions for the Solicitor General for filing in the U.S. Supreme Court

• coordinates domestic and international policies to address child exploitation and trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes; investigates and prosecutes violations of federal law related to obscenity and child exploitation, including child pornography, trafficking of women and children for criminal sexual conduct, child abuse on federal lands, international parental kidnapping and federal child support enforcement

• conducts grand jury investigations and prosecutions in complex, sensitive or precedent-setting fraud and white collar crime cases, and provides on-site litigation support to U.S. Attorneys as needed

• coordinates domestic and international policy to address many uses of computers in crime; participates in investigation and prosecution of computer crime, intellectual property crime and wiretap crime cases; and, trains prosecutors and agents on high-technology legal issues

• supervises the investigation and prosecution of cases affecting national security, foreign relations, and the export of military/strategic commodities and technology

• serves as the primary Division component to initiate, coordinate and review litigation, legislation, policies, and procedures in association with other agencies and governments in money laundering and asset forfeiture law enforcement

• investigates and prosecutes national and international narcotics trafficking and money laundering

• coordinates the Department's program to combat organized crime, and supervises the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases in U.S. Attorneys' Offices

• oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the investigation and prosecution of criminal abuses of the public trust by Government officials

• oversees the use of the most sensitive investigative and prosecutorial techniques in the federal arsenal, including electronic surveillance, the Witness Security Program, and the granting of use immunity to compel testimony from witnesses; reviews prisoner transfer requests pursuant to international treaties, as well as requests to the Criminal Division for information under the Freedom of Information Act

• supports the Department's legal divisions, U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and state and local prosecutors regarding questions of foreign and international law and coordinates all international evidence gathering, and negotiates treaties and other international law enforcement agreements

• analyzes policy and management issues related to criminal law enforcement and the criminal justice system

• investigates individuals who took part in Nazi-sponsored acts or persecution abroad and takes legal action to exclude, denaturalize and/or deport them

• investigates and prosecutes domestic and international terrorism, violent crime, terrorist fund-raising, and firearms and explosives violations, and provides support and advice to U.S. Attorneys

• provides technical assistance and training support to enhance foreign justice sector development and cooperation

top

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 395
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 12
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/enrd
Locations: Washington, D.C., Anchorage; Denver; Sacramento; San Francisco; and Seattle (Honor Program attorneys are not hired for positions in field offices; however, volunteer legal intern positions are available in the field offices.)

The Environment and Natural Resources Division is the Nation's environmental lawyer. The majority of the Division's attorneys are employed in the following nine litigating sections (approximate number of attorneys in each component is indicated in parentheses):

1. Appellate Section (30)

• handles appeals culminating from the Division's litigating sections, as well as various matters originating in the U.S. Courts of Appeals (e.g., air and water regulation, hazardous substance cleanups, Indian rights, endangered species protection, etc.)
• assists the Solicitor General when the Division's cases reach the Supreme Court

• prosecutes individuals and industries that have violated laws designed to protect the environment (e.g., Clean Air Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; and, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)

• brings civil enforcement cases on behalf of its client agencies, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking control of pollution and cleanup of hazardous waste sites (e.g., Exxon Valdez oil spill)

• tries both civil and criminal cases under federal wildlife laws and laws concerning the protection of marine fish and mammals (e.g., prosecution of smugglers and black market dealers in protected wildlife)

• handles defensive and enforcement litigation in federal district and appellate courts in suits challenging the Government's administration of federal environmental laws (e.g., claims by industries that regulations are too strict or claims by environmental groups that Government standards are too lax)

• ensures compliance with over 70 different statutes dealing with land management issues of federally owned properties and natural resources (e.g., National Environmental Policy Act, national forest management, National Historic Preservation Act, water rights, and offshore oil leasing cases)
• represents the United States in all legal and equitable claims asserted by Indian tribes on the grounds that the U.S. has not complied with its obligations to the tribes

• represents the United States in its trust capacity for individual Indians or Indian tribes (e.g., establishing land, water, hunting and fishing rights)

• acquires land, either by direct purchase or through condemnation proceedings, for use by the Federal Government for purposes ranging from establishing public parks to creating missile sites

• advises and assists the Assistant Attorney General on policy issues
• coordinates and directs the Division's legislative program, including appearances of Division witnesses before congressional committees
• litigates amicus cases and undertakes other special litigation projects

top

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW

Total No. of Attorneys: 370
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 32
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/eoir
Locations: Falls Church, VA; 52 immigration courts in 23 states

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is responsible for developing policies and directing activities related to the conduct of administrative hearings and appellate reviews on various matters of immigration law, including the determination of individuals' immigration status in the United States.

The majority of EOIR's attorneys are employed in the following four components (approximate number of attorneys, including law clerks, in each component is indicated in parentheses):

1. Office of the Director (including Office of General Counsel) (10)

• attorneys assist the management staff and component heads by interpreting laws and regulations, reviewing legislative initiatives, preparing regulations and statements of policy, and maintaining liaison with the private bar and other immigration interest groups
• attorneys administer programs under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, promote pro bono activities among Government and private attorneys, respond to complaints about improper conduct of immigrationpractitioners, and provide guidance on matters of ethics and legal procedure

• quasi-judicial body of 18 permanent members with nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals from certain decisions rendered by Immigration Judges and by District Directors
• staff attorneys assist the Board in researching cases, identifying salient issues of law and preparing decisions: they specialize in dealing with certaincategories of cases and assist Board panels in determining the merits of certain cases for oral argument, en banc review or published decision

• Deputy and Assistant Chief Immigration Judges and the Counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge assist in overall policy direction and supervision of Immigration Courts in the field, recommending policy determinations, setting priorities, and streamlining court procedures
• Immigration Judges conduct formal administrative hearings and render decisions to adjudicate individual cases of aliens subject to removal from the United States, determining their eligibility for relief or other consideration under immigration law

• Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) conduct hearings and adjudicate cases arising under the provisions of the immigration law relating to unlawful employment of aliens, document fraud, and unfair immigration-related employment practices; the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (CAHO) conducts administrative reviews of ALJ decisions in the first two categories of cases
• Attorneys-Advisors assist the ALJs in researching cases, identifying salient issues of law and preparing decisions; other staff attorneys do legal research and write analyses in support of the CAHO's administrative reviews of ALJ decisions

<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" ,="," sans-serif;="sans-serif;" size="2">Special Note: People are often confused by the seemingly overlapping duties of EOIR and other Department offices handling immigration issues. EOIR was created in 1983 through an internal Department of Justice reorganization which combined the Board of Immigration Appeals with the Immigration Judge function previously performed by INS. Besides establishing EOIR as a separate agency within the Department of Justice, this reorganization made the Immigration Courts, the agency charged with enforcement of Federal immigration laws. EOIR is also separate from the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices in the Department's Civil Rights Division and the Office of Immigration Litigation in the Department's Civil Division.

top

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS

Total No. of Attorneys: 130
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 9
Web address: www.bop.gov
Locations: Washington, D.C.; regional and consolidated legal centers in Allenwood, PA; Annapolis Junction, MD; Atlanta, GA; Beckley, WV; Butner, NC; Coleman, FL; Dallas, TX; Dublin, CA; Edgefield, SC; Florence, CO; Houston, TX; Kansas City, KS; Lexington, KY; Los Angeles, CA; Lompoc, CA; Miami, FL; Oklahoma City, OK; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Rochester, MN; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) oversees the operation of the federal prison system, which presently consists of 101 penal institutions.

BOP will begin a two-year fellowship program for the 2002-2003 Attorney General’s Honors Program. Individuals hired under this Program will serve two-year appointments. During this two-year appointment, each attorney will rotate through some of the practice areas described below. Honors Program attorneys will receive challenging and responsible assignments and develop an understanding of the various issues that face BOP.

BOP attorneys are employed either in the Central Office in Washington, D.C., in Regional Offices or consolidated legal centers located nationwide, or in one of BOP's many penal institutions (approximate number of attorneys in each entity is indicated in parentheses):

1. Central Office (Office of General Counsel) (47)

This office is divided into eight branches:

Commercial Law Branch

• defends the BOP against protests and claims in government contract matters, with a heavy emphasis in construction

Discrimination Complaints and Ethics Branch

• processes administrative complaints of discrimination and provides advice and training on government ethics

Labor Law Branch

• provides legal advice to BOP management on labor management and personnel issues and represents management in various administrative and judicial forums

Legal Administrative Branch

• processes Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) requests and assists in litigation of FOIA/PA cases; oversees all attorney personnel issues and computer services for legal staff

Legal Training and Review Branch

• designs and provides specialty training for paralegals and attorneys, including continuing professional education program; oversees the alternative dispute resolution program and conducts management reviews of BOP's legal operation

Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch

• provides legal assistance on correctional issues such as inmates' rights and conditions of confinement, drafts and reviews legislation that may affect BOP operations, and coordinates the BOP rule-making process

Litigation Branch

• defends the BOP and its staff in litigation filed in the District of Columbia and litigation with a national impact on BOP programs and policy, as well as overseeing the inmate grievance procedure. The litigation covers a wide variety of issues, such as constitutional challenges, medical malpractice, injunctive relief, and appellate practice

Real Estate and Environmental Branch

• provides legal assistance and litigation support on a variety of issues, including land transactions and environmental laws

• provide litigation support to U.S. Attorneys' Offices for inmate litigation arising out of the prisons located within the region (generally 12 to 16 prisons) in the following types of lawsuits:
  • Bivens actions, claiming a federal employee has violated an inmate's constitutional rights (e.g., an allegation that the conditions of confinement within an institution are unconstitutional)
  • Federal Tort Claims Act suits (e.g., an allegation that BOP staff members were negligent in failing to prevent personal injury to an inmate)
    
  • petitions for writ of habeas corpus (e.g., an inmate's claim that the sentence imposed has not been properly computed)
• provide legal advice to regional office and prison administrators on a variety of legal issues involving constitutional, torts, contracts, administrative, labor and employment law
• Consolidated Legal Center attorneys also assist with prosecution of crimes which occur at BOP facilities

top

TAX DIVISION

Total No. of Attorneys: 350
Average No. of Honors Program Attorneys Hired: 27
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/tax
Locations: Washington, D.C.

The primary mission of the Tax Division is to enforce the Nation's tax laws in federal and state courts and thereby generate revenue for the Federal Government. The Division handles virtually all civil litigation arising under the internal revenue law, except that in the U.S. Tax Court. Cases present a variety of legal issues involving federal tax law, bankruptcy law, constitutional law and state property law. The majority of the Division's attorneys are employed in the following three sections (approximate number of attorneys in each section is indicated in parentheses):

1. Appellate Section (50)Appellate Section attorneys:

• handle appeals in civil tax cases (e.g., prepare briefs and present oral argument in U.S. Courts of Appeals and, on assignment from the Office of the Solicitor General, in the U.S. Supreme Court)
• review adverse court decisions and prepare recommendations as to whether an appeal should be taken

• defend the government in tax refund and civil damages suit
• defend Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees against suits for damages allegedly caused by them in the performance of their official duties
• defend the Secretary of the Treasury, Commissioner of Internal Revenue and other officials against suits testing the validity of federal tax regulations and rulings

• prosecute tax offenses
• review and analyze recommendations for prosecution of tax offenses received from IRS and U.S. Attorneys to determine whether prosecution should be authorized
• review requests to initiate or expand grand jury investigations arising under the Nation's internal revenue laws
• conduct and participate in grand jury investigations and prosecutions in complex and technical cases (e.g., financial institution fraud, health care fraud, organized crime activities and narcotics trafficking)

• obtained convictions against perpetrators of the largest motor fuels excise tax evasion scheme ever prosecuted involving the evasion of taxes of approximately $140 million
  
• successfully defended several tax refund suits brought by large corporations using abusive tax shelters to avoid payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes owed
  
• successfully defended the IRS's revocation of a church's tax exempt status
  based on prohibited involvement in political activities
  
• obtained convictions of individuals who evaded millions in federal income
  taxes by laundering money through off-shore bank accounts
  
• obtained convictions against six co-conspirators who filed false claims for tax refunds and attempted to intimidate IRS officers and federal judges by filing false liens against their properties
• successfully defended a tax refund suit brought by a large telecommunications company seeking investment tax credits in a case having a nationwide impact of approximately $30 billion in tax revenue

top

UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS' OFFICES

Total No. of attorneys: 4,815
Note: U.S. Attorneys' Offices do not hire entry level attorneys
Web address: www.usdoj.gov/usao
Locations: 94 offices nationwide

United States Attorneys are responsible for handling a significant portion of the criminal prosecutions and civil litigation on behalf of the Department of Justice and most other federal agencies. Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) work in the following areas:

1. Criminal Work

Criminal work includes the coordination of investigations and prosecution of a wide range of criminal activities, including violent crime, terrorism, organized crime, computer fraud, environmental crime, public corruption, health care fraud, firearms violations, drug trafficking, money laundering, financial institutions fraud, asset forfeiture, and child support enforcement. Typically, AUSAs doing this type of work:

• supervise and conduct investigations (e.g., work with grand juries and criminal investigative agents, review evidence, interview witnesses, prepare search and seizure warrants, and conduct other work leading to trial)
• prepare criminal complaints and indictments
• negotiate and draft plea agreements
• prepare for and conduct jury and court trials
• brief and argue appeals

• initiating affirmative litigation and other civil cases to assert and protect the interests of the United States (e.g., enforcement of environmental, public safety, health care, fair housing and Government program fraud laws)
• defending the interests of the Government in lawsuits filed against the United States (e.g., tort and employment discrimination claims against federal agencies and judicial review of various administrative rulings)
• enforcing the financial and property interests of the Federal Government in civil and criminal collections, real estate foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings

• conduct legal research on affirmative and defensive civil issues
• draft motions to dismiss and for summary judgment and other pleadings
• conduct depositions and pursue other fact discovery
• interview lay fact witnesses and expert witnesses
• appear in court for motion hearings and settlement conferences
• prepare for and conduct jury and court trials
• brief and argue appeals

• achieved a major victory against organized crime when the "consigliere" and street boss of the Genovese organized crime family was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as a result of his conviction for racketeering, murder and other offenses
• successfully prosecuted the former president of the New Haven Chapter of the Almighty Latin King Nation for the murder of an innocent bystander, attempted murder, Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) charges, RICO conspiracy and drug offenses
• obtained a guilty plea from a defendant to a 14-count indictment charging him with leading a violent, criminal enterprise that brought large amounts of cocaine and marijuana into the New Orleans area, and who was responsible for eight drug-related murders
• in a significant health care fraud case, obtained a conviction against the owner and president of Clinitec Laboratory on multiple counts of conspiracy, false claims, and kickback violations for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by billing for false laboratory tests and paying kickbacks to nursing homes who used their lab services
• brought charges against a corporation that operates a major cruise line, resulting in a sentence of five years of probation, and a $2 million fine, for illegally dumping oily, unprocessed bilge water into Alaskan waters, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships
• reached a settlement with a major, metropolitan housing authority which agreed to pay $1.5 million in damages and legal fees to tenants who were subjected to racial harassment and physical violence while living at four of its housing developments

top

UNITED STATES TRUSTEES' OFFICES

• appear in court, almost daily, to ensure that bankruptcy cases are fairly and expeditiously administered. For example, attorneys may: represent the public interest in objecting to a proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan because the debtor is dissipating assets; contest excessive professional fees in bankruptcy cases under Chapter 7 or 11; seek dismissal of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing that constitutes a "substantial abuse" of the bankruptcy system; or pursue civil remedies against non-attorney "petition preparers" who violate the law governing their activities
• in Chapter 11 business reorganizations, ensure that cases are administered expeditiously, that creditors' interests are adequately represented and that retained professionals act with economy and dispatch
• work closely with the United States Attorneys, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute bankruptcy fraud cases
• monitor the private trustees whom the Program appoints to administer Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy cases

• handle appeals
• coordinate litigation of cases of first impression
• provide legal advice to the U.S. Trustees
• develop legislative proposals
• manage congressional correspondence
• respond to Freedom of Information Act requests
• handle ethics issues

• played a key role in enforcement actions against retailers who were engaging in improper debt collection procedures, culminating in a settlement for $60 million -- the largest criminal penalty ever paid in a bankruptcy fraud case
• obtained disgorgement or reduction of millions of dollars in legal fees from law firms that failed to disclose actual or potential conflicts in legal representation
• successfully pursued scam operators who unlawfully used the bankruptcy system to prey upon families facing foreclosure
  

top