District Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
Matthew J. Kacsmaryk serves as United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
He previously served in the (1) private, (2) government, and (3) nonprofit sectors:
Judge Kacsmaryk is an Honors graduate of the University of Texas Law School, where he joined the Federalist Society and served as an Executive Editor of the Texas Review of Law & Politics. Judge Kacsmaryk co-founded the Fort Worth Lawyers Chapter in 2012, coordinated the 2018 Texas Chapters Conference hosted by the Fort Worth Lawyers Chapter, and presently serves on its Advisory Board.
Acting United States Attorney, Northern District of Texas
Nancy E. Larson was appointed Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas on May 29, 2025.
She is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district, which covers 96,000 square miles and a population of approximately eight million. Ms. Larson oversees roughly 220 attorneys and staff across five division offices and is responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States government in the region.
Ms. Larson has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for more than 30 years. She began her career with the Department of Justice in the District of Columbia, serving as a federal prosecutor in the D.C. United States Attorney’s Office. There, she led successful prosecutions involving homicide, narcotics, violent crime, fraud, and other offenses.
In 1999, Ms. Larson joined the Northern District of Texas as the lead prosecutor for the Housing Fraud Initiative. After serving in the Criminal Division, Ms. Larson was named the Chief of the Appellate Division. She served in that role for over a decade and regularly appeared before the Fifth Circuit on behalf of the United States. Ms. Larson also has served as the district’s Executive Assistant United States Attorney and its Professional Responsibility Officer. Ms. Larson is an accomplished trial lawyer, having represented the United States in more than two dozen criminal trials. During her career, Ms. Larson received numerous awards for her service and leadership.
Ms. Larson is a native of New York and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Ms. Larson’s father, whose father and grandfather served on the NYPD, was a career Special Agent in IRS Criminal Investigations. Her family’s legacy in law enforcement instilled in her a devotion to public service and the cause of justice.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Reed Charles O'Connor is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He joined the court in 2007 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
A native of Houston, Texas, O'Connor graduated from the University of Houston with his bachelor's degree in 1986 and from South Texas College of Law with his J.D. in 1989.
District Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Judge Brantley Starr was appointed to United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in August 2019. Before his appointment, Judge Starr was the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of Texas. Prior to that appointment, he served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel. From 2011 to 2015, Judge Starr served as career staff attorney to Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. From 2008 to 2011, he practiced at King & Spalding, LLP. He served in the Office of the Solicitor General from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Judge Starr clerked for then-Justice Don Willett on the Texas Supreme Court after serving at the Office of the Attorney General. Judge Starr received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and his bachelor of arts degree from Abilene Christian University in 2001. Judge Starr has taught the Origins of the Constitution Class at the University of Texas law, Texas A&M law, and SMU law.
Deputy Attorney General, Department of Justice
The Honorable Todd Blanche is the 40th Deputy Attorney General of the United States, overseeing the work of the 115,000 dedicated employees who fulfill the Department of Justice’s mission at Main Justice, the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals, ATF, and 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
Todd began his career at the Department where he served for over fifteen years in a variety of capacities, including as a contractor, a paralegal in the Criminal Division, and at the United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York where he eventually became an AUSA and later a supervisor.
After leaving the Department, Todd worked as a criminal defense attorney that included representing President Donald Trump in three of the criminal cases brought against him in 2023 and 2024.
Following President Trump’s historic return to the White House, the President appointed Todd to work alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi to make America safe again. At the DOJ, Todd is working tirelessly to implement President Trump’s priorities that include confronting illegal protecting American businesses from fraud.
Todd has been married to his wonderful wife Kristine for nearly thirty years, is the father of two, and the grandfather of one.
Chief Compliance Officer at Radiance Technologies
Jay E. Town is the Chief Compliance Officer at Radiance
Technologies, a large defense and aerospace contractor headquarted
in Huntsville, Alabama. Town is responsible for government and
procurement compliance for the defense, intelligence, national
security, and law enforcement sectors. This includes a wide range of
federal and state regulations, such as the FAR, DFARS, ITAR,
CMMC, export controls, and the handling or containment of
classified information.
Prior to joining Radiance Technologies, Town was the Vice President and General Counsel at
Gray Analytics, an aerospace and military defense contractor. Town played a large role
in leading executive management efforts around advanced analytics for law enforcement
and intelligence agencies, cyber security, ransomware attack solutions, internal
investigations, and business development. Town also provided legal advice related to
myriad facets of Gray Analytics service platforms.
Town recently served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
from 2017 to 2020. Nominated by President Donald Trump in 2017, United States
Attorney Town oversaw the largest increase in federal prosecutions in the history of the
Northern District of Alabama. Town created the Prosecutor-to-Prosecutor Program
(“P3”) which creates a communication framework where state and federal prosecutors
charge repeat offenders where the sanction and punishment will be the greatest. In 2020,
the Attorney General of the United States recognized Town for his design of the P3
Program and he was awarded the prestigious “Project Safe Neighborhood Outstanding
Individual Contribution Award”, the lone recipient that year. Town also created the “OD
Leads System” where local, state, and federal investigators use available data, to include
9-1-1 call information, to investigate overdoses and prosecute federally the dealers
causing the overdose. Town also oversaw the Department’s largest civil rights
investigation into abuses related to incarceration and incarcerated persons. Town also
was known by every layer and level of law enforcement for his ability to forge
partnerships between local, state, and federal members of law enforcement.
While U.S. Attorney, Town served as the Chair of the Attorney General’s
Servicemembers and Veterans Rights Subcommittee, and as a member of the
Management, Performance and Personnel Subcommittee, and the Cyber Subcommittee.
Town was one of five U.S. Attorneys selected to serve on the Attorney General’s China
Initiative Steering Committee. He was also the lone U.S. Attorney member of the
Attorney General’s Violent Crime Reduction Coordinating Committee. In 2018, Townjoined the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board. Town was selected by the
Department of Justice to serve as a Working Group Chair on the Presidential
Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, created by President
Donald Trump on October 28, 2019, and the first of its kind since 1964.
Jay Town was an accomplished prosecutor in the Madison County District Attorney’s
Office from 2005 until his confirmation as U.S. Attorney. Town left the District
Attorney’s Office as a senior prosecutor handling a full catalogue of crimes, including
capital murder, murder, robbery, assault, and burglary. Mr. Town also was instrumental
in forming the Madison County Veterans Court, one of the first such diversionary courts
in Alabama dedicated to the physical and mental health needs of veterans in the criminal
justice system. During his time in the D.A.’s Office, Town prosecuted thousands of
cases, led countless violent crime investigations, and tried scores of jury trials.
Town served in the Marine Corps for twelve years as a judge advocate and was
honorably discharged in 2008, attaining the rank of Major. Town served as trial counsel,
staff judge advocate, and operational lawyer after 9/11. Before moving to Alabama, he
was outside counsel at a large firm in New Jersey focused on commercial defense of
major pharmaceutical, commercial, and surety companies.
He has sat on several charitable boards, to include the Congressional Medal of Honor
Foundation, a national organization promoting educational, patriotic, and veterans’
initiatives directed by the living Medal of Honor recipients. He also served the
Foundation as chairman of the Audit Committee, President’s Advisory Group, and was a
member of the Executive Committee. He also serves as an emeritus director for
America’s Warrior Partnership, which is a national veterans services organization. Mr.
Town was an original board member of The Bennie Adkins Foundation, which provides
scholarships to veterans in Alabama. He also was chairman of the Boys & Girls Clubs of
North Alabama for two years and a corporate board member for nearly a decade. In
2022, Town was selected by his peers to serve on the Board of Directors for the National
Association of Former United States Attorneys (NAFUSA).
Town has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville in the
Department of Political Science with the curriculum focused on executive war powers
and the Geneva Conventions. He regularly appears on national television as a legal
analyst. Town was published in the 2021 by the University of Notre Dame Law Review.
He was published again in 2023 by the University of Belmont Law Review.
Jay earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Government & International Relations from the
University of Notre Dame in 1995 and received his Juris Doctor from the Seton Hall
University School of Law in 1998. He is a member of the State Bars of Indiana, New
Jersey and Alabama, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He lives with his wife
and daughter in Huntsville, Alabama.
United States Attorney, District of Massachusetts
Leah B. Foley is the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Appointed by Acting Attorney General James McHenry on Jan. 20, 2025, Ms. Foley is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District of Massachusetts.
Ms. Foley has been a federal prosecutor for 23 years, first serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and, most recently, the District of Massachusetts. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Foley served as Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit where she supervised international and domestic narcotics investigations and international money laundering, immigration, human trafficking and firearms cases. She also served as the Lead Attorney for the Organized Crime & Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2013.
As an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, Ms. Foley prosecuted violent crimes, sex crimes, felony narcotics and firearms cases. She also authored appellate briefs and argued before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Prior to her tenure with the Department of Justice, Ms. Foley Served as Counsel to the United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary from 1998-2002, where she advised Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee on drug policy and other criminal law matters; negotiated policy issues with representatives of elected officials, federal agencies, public interest groups and private organizations; traveled to foreign countries to assess American law enforcement initiatives abroad; and liaised with foreign law enforcement and officials to combat international drug trafficking.
Before she began her career in public service, Ms. Foley worked as an Associate at diGenova & Toensing in Washington D.C., representing clients in tax, antitrust, securities fraud and FEC violations cases.
Ms. Foley received a Master of Laws (LLM) from Georgetown University Law Center in 1996 after receiving her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she studied, English, Philosophy and French.
Senior Legal Fellow and Manager, National Security Law Program, The Heritage Foundation
Charles “Cully” Stimson is a widely recognized expert in national security, homeland security, crime control, drug policy and immigration. A senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation since 2007, Stimson became Manager of the National Security Law Program in Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government in April 2013 after serving as Heritage’s chief of staff for a year.
Stimson writes and lectures on policy issues such as the law of armed conflict, terrorist detainee policy and interrogations, the Geneva Conventions, military commissions, the Patriot Act and FISA, criminal law and the death penalty, immigration and the war on drugs. As chief of staff to then-Heritage President Edwin J. Feulner, he was a key adviser on public policy matters as well as manager of Feulner’s office staff and Heritage’s day-to-day operations.
Stimson’s many research papers, op-eds and articles include special reports such as “Adult Time for Adult Crime,” a comprehensive study on the constitutionality of life sentences for teen-age murderers, and Sexual Assault in the Military: Understanding the Problem and How to Fix It, a ground-breaking paper detailing the inner workings of the military justice system compared to its civilian counterpart. His work on criminal and immigration law has been cited in briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He testifies before the U.S. Senate and House on national security issues, and recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Law of Armed Conflict, Law of War, and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
Before joining the think tank in 2007, Stimson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs. He advised then-Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates and coordinated the Pentagon’s global detention policy and operations, including at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was chairman of detainee-related panels such as the Defense Senior Leadership Oversight Committee, and the Special Detainee Follow Up Group. He represented the United States before the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2006 where he led the DOD delegation in defense of the United States’ Second Period Report on the Convention Against Torture.
An accomplished trial lawyer, Stimson worked as a prosecutor at the local, state and federal levels, where he concentrated on violent crimes such as homicide, sexual assault and domestic violence. A third generation naval officer, Cully also served as a military prosecutor, defense counsel, and recently served as Deputy Chief Judge of the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. He continues to serve, with the rank of Captain, as the Commanding Officer of the Preliminary Hearing Unit.
Stimson’s thousands of media interviews and appearances include Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and C-SPAN. He has been quoted by most major newspapers, including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and London Times.
A businessman and educator by training, Stimson is Vice Chairman of his family’s commercial real estate company in Seattle. Before 9/11, he was a Vice President at a New York-based global financial services and insurance brokerage firm where ran the private equity mergers and acquisitions D.C. operation.
Stimson holds a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, where he later taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law. He is a graduate of Kenyon College, where he was Captain of the men’s varsity soccer team and an All-Conference player. He also studied at Harvard and Exeter universities. An avid soccer player and triathlete, he serves as Chairman of the Board of the United States Soccer Foundation, the charitable giving arm of U.S. Soccer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California
Shareholder, Maynard Nexsen PC
Christian is a Shareholder in Maynard Nexsen’s Government Investigations & White Collar Defense practice group. An award-winning defense attorney, Christian’s practice focuses on the representation of business entities and individuals under investigation or facing allegations of criminal and civil wrongdoing. He is a trial lawyer with more than 14 years in private practice who has handled hundreds of criminal matters throughout North Carolina and in federal courts nationally.
Christian has handled high-profile matters involving antitrust violations, political corruption, securities fraud, and countless allegations of fraudulent business dealings. He has successfully defended individuals facing potential professional licensure suspension or revocation.
His practice includes representation of businesses and individuals served with Grand Jury Subpoenas and Target Letters and asked to provide trial testimony, including counseling other attorneys and surgeon witnesses. Christian works with attorneys throughout the firm to ensure that his clients are afforded the most comprehensive representation.
Of equal importance to Christian’s success as a litigator is his ability to help those suspected of criminal wrongdoing, including those who may become a target of an ongoing investigation, avoid charges altogether. Christian has negotiated non-prosecution agreements, pretrial diversion agreements, deferred prosecutions, and the outright dismissal of charges in numerous cases.
Prior to joining Maynard Nexsen, Christian was a Founder and Managing Partner of Dysart Willis, a full-service criminal defense firm. Dysart, a Raleigh native, opened Dysart Willis in 2010 after a clerkship at the Supreme Court of North Carolina and a one-year Fellowship in the Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility at Duke Law School.
Founding Dean & Professor, Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law at High Point University
Hon. Mark Martin is the founding dean and professor of law at the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law at High Point University.
Mark served as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2014-2019. He also served on that Court as an Associate Justice, on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and on a North Carolina Superior Court.
The Chief Justice of the United States appointed Mark to the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the United States Judicial Conference. He also served on the board of directors of the Conference of Chief Justices.
Mark chairs the Thomson Reuters Judicial Advisory Council. He is a member of the American Law Institute, where he assists with the Third Restatement, Conflict of Laws, and serves on the Region 15 Advisory Committee.
Mark has served on the adjunct faculties of Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina law schools. Mark co-taught a course on the various modes of constitutional interpretation with Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court from 2020-2022.
Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of North Carolina
Attorney, Cranfill Sumner, LLP
Chad Rhoades is an attorney with Cranfill Sumner, LLP and is a member of the firm’s Administrative, Regulatory and Government Law and White Collar, Government Investigations, and Special Matters practice groups. Chad is also a member of Mincey Bell Milnor, an affiliate boutique group of Cranfill Sumner LLP based in Washington, D.C. Chad is an experienced litigator with extensive policy and political experience at both the federal and state level across multiple branches of government. Prior to joining Cranfill Sumner, Chad was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, served as Chief Counsel to United States Senator Thom Tillis, and worked in state government at the North Carolina General Assembly.
As a federal prosecutor, Chad prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases, led violent crime reduction task forces, chaired nine jury trials, and successfully argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Chad has led complex investigations and indicted sophisticated criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, violent crime, fraud, firearms trafficking, and money laundering. Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Chad served as Chief Counsel to United States Senator Thom Tillis. As Chief Counsel, Chad advised on matters that included firearms policy, antitrust, criminal justice reform, whistleblower protection, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, data privacy, campaign finance, and congressional and oversight investigations. During his time on Capitol Hill, Chad helped the office author, introduce, and shepherd bipartisan legislation. He also guided the office through the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court justices, circuit court judges, and high-level executive appointments. Before his time in Washington, D.C., Chad worked in state government at the North Carolina General Assembly where he practiced and advised in election and campaign law. Chad received his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and law degree from Campbell University.
Senior Legal Fellow and Manager, National Security Law Program, The Heritage Foundation
Charles “Cully” Stimson is a widely recognized expert in national security, homeland security, crime control, drug policy and immigration. A senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation since 2007, Stimson became Manager of the National Security Law Program in Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government in April 2013 after serving as Heritage’s chief of staff for a year.
Stimson writes and lectures on policy issues such as the law of armed conflict, terrorist detainee policy and interrogations, the Geneva Conventions, military commissions, the Patriot Act and FISA, criminal law and the death penalty, immigration and the war on drugs. As chief of staff to then-Heritage President Edwin J. Feulner, he was a key adviser on public policy matters as well as manager of Feulner’s office staff and Heritage’s day-to-day operations.
Stimson’s many research papers, op-eds and articles include special reports such as “Adult Time for Adult Crime,” a comprehensive study on the constitutionality of life sentences for teen-age murderers, and Sexual Assault in the Military: Understanding the Problem and How to Fix It, a ground-breaking paper detailing the inner workings of the military justice system compared to its civilian counterpart. His work on criminal and immigration law has been cited in briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He testifies before the U.S. Senate and House on national security issues, and recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Law of Armed Conflict, Law of War, and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
Before joining the think tank in 2007, Stimson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs. He advised then-Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates and coordinated the Pentagon’s global detention policy and operations, including at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was chairman of detainee-related panels such as the Defense Senior Leadership Oversight Committee, and the Special Detainee Follow Up Group. He represented the United States before the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2006 where he led the DOD delegation in defense of the United States’ Second Period Report on the Convention Against Torture.
An accomplished trial lawyer, Stimson worked as a prosecutor at the local, state and federal levels, where he concentrated on violent crimes such as homicide, sexual assault and domestic violence. A third generation naval officer, Cully also served as a military prosecutor, defense counsel, and recently served as Deputy Chief Judge of the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. He continues to serve, with the rank of Captain, as the Commanding Officer of the Preliminary Hearing Unit.
Stimson’s thousands of media interviews and appearances include Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and C-SPAN. He has been quoted by most major newspapers, including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and London Times.
A businessman and educator by training, Stimson is Vice Chairman of his family’s commercial real estate company in Seattle. Before 9/11, he was a Vice President at a New York-based global financial services and insurance brokerage firm where ran the private equity mergers and acquisitions D.C. operation.
Stimson holds a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, where he later taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law. He is a graduate of Kenyon College, where he was Captain of the men’s varsity soccer team and an All-Conference player. He also studied at Harvard and Exeter universities. An avid soccer player and triathlete, he serves as Chairman of the Board of the United States Soccer Foundation, the charitable giving arm of U.S. Soccer.
Partner, King & Spalding
John Richter is a trial and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Investigations Practice Group, and represents and defends companies, Boards of Directors, Board committees, and individuals facing a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations. John previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.
Law & Order: Northern District of Texas
Dallas Lawyer Chapter
Dallas, TXLuncheon & Keynote Fireside
2025 Alabama Chapters Conference
Birmingham, ALReception with Adam Gordon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California
San Diego, CACareer Chat with Andrew Boutros
Chicago Lawyers Chapter
Chicago, ILCriminal Justice Policy in the Trump Era
Boston, MACriminal Justice Reform: State and Federal Perspectives
Los Angeles Lawyers Chapter
Los Angeles, CASCOTUS Term Preview
Michigan Young Lawyers Chapter
Detroit, MIPanel II: Criminal Justice Reform: Is more needed or did we go too far? A look back at the First Step Act and Raise the Age
2024 North Carolina Chapters Conference
Raleigh, NCFighting Domestic Terrorism and Creating the Department of Justice: The Extraordinary Leadership of Attorney General Amos T. Akerman
Charlotte Lawyers Chapter Event
Charlotte, NCData Privacy Deep Dive - Part I | Katz on the Internet [The FedSoc Films Podcast]
John C. Richter
In this Part 1 episode of the FedSoc Films Podcast, John Richter, a partner at...