THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
SPEAKERS
Lela Anderson
Attorney Advisor, Office of the Chief Counsel, United States Department of Treasury
Lela Anderson is an attorney advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Lela serves as a legal advisor to the Judgment Fund Branch, as well as other practice areas including savings bond issuance and governance.
Prior to her work at Treasury, Lela was a debt collection attorney in Pennsylvania and an assistant county attorney in Harris County Texas. Lela holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois.
Jason Bergmann
Assistant Chief, Court of Federal Claims Section, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice
Jason Bergmann is an Assistant Chief in the Court of Federal Claims Section of the Department of Justice Tax Division. For almost sixteen years, he has represented the United States as lead counsel in tax cases in the Court of Federal Claims. Jason has a forthcoming article in the Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice that addresses district court and Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction in tax cases. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee in 2012 and the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2020. Before joining the Tax Division, Jason practiced for twelve years as a civil litigator at private law firms in Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco, California. He received a J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law and clerked for Judge Vaughn R. Walker on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Peter Blessing
Associate Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service
Mr. Blessing is currently the Associate Chief Counsel (International). He oversees an office of over 100 attorneys and other professionals responsible for legal advice, guidance, and support to the IRS, Treasury, and the public on international tax issues in all procedural postures. Prior to joining Counsel, Mr. Blessing practiced for over 32 years with Shearman & Sterling LLP, where his tax practice focused on international tax matters and financial institutions and thereafter for 6 years with the Washington National Tax (WNT) unit of KPMG LLP. Mr. Blessing also served in leadership positions in several bar associations and other professional organizations. He received his B.A. from Princeton University. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his LL.M. (Taxation) from New York University School of Law.
Hon. Eric Bruggink
Judge, United States 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.
Brian Corcoran
Chief Special Master, United States 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. He was designated Chief Special Master by the court to succeed Nora Beth Dorsey, effective October 1, 2019.
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.
Hon. Thompson Dietz
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Thompson M. Dietz was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on December 22, 2020. Prior to his appointment, Judge Dietz served as associate counsel at a national accounting firm based in Roseland, New Jersey, where his practice focused on government contracts, commercial contracts, and regulatory and compliance matters. With almost a decade in the accounting industry, he has provided counsel with respect to diverse legal and regulatory matters. He also served as lead counsel for the firm's government and public sector group and data security and privacy matters.
Before his time in the accounting industry, Judge Dietz worked in the contracts group of a large defense contractor, where he was involved in the negotiation and management of federal government contracts relating to significant military system design and development programs. Judge Dietz received a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Marine Corps for his contributions.
Judge Dietz is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned his B.A. from Clemson University and J.D. from Tulane Law School. He is married and has three daughters.
Nora Beth Dorsey
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Nora Beth Dorsey was appointed Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on January 14, 2013. She served as Chief Special Master from September 1, 2015–September 30, 2019.
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.
Thomas Gowen
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Thomas L. Gowen was appointed Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on March 3, 2014. He is a 1971 graduate of Haverford College from which he received the George Miller Award in Political Science. He graduated from Villanova University School of Law.
Special Master Gowen practiced law for 37 years in the Philadelphia area, and for the last 10 years as a partner at Locks Law Firm in Philadelphia. His focus has been primarily in complex tort litigation, including the handling of traumatic brain injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, spinal cord injury, medical negligence, toxic torts, and other personal injury matters.
He has served as Chairman of a hearing panel for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Third, Fourth, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Fran Griesing
Founder and Managing Member, Griesing Mazzeo Law
Fran founded Griesing Mazzeo Law, LLC, a Philadelphia based women-owned firm with offices Arizona, Florida, Ohio and New York. She has over 40 years of experience representing public and closely-held companies, nonprofits, government and executives in complex transactions, high stakes litigation, employment and ADR. She is an experienced arbitrator and mediator having handled matters in person and virtually.
Fran previously practiced at several large firms and served as Philadelphia Law Department Litigation Chair. Recognized by Chambers & Partners, Best Lawyers, Client Choice, and Super Lawyers, she was honored as one of Philadelphia Inquirer’s Influencers of Law and Diversity & Inclusion Lifetime Achievers, Philadelphia Business Journal’s Best of the Bar, Legal Intelligencer’s Women of the Year, Ms. JD’s Sharing Her Passion Honoree, ABA Women in Litigation Who Inspire Us; Super Lawyers’ Top 50 Women Lawyers. She received Philadelphia Bar Education Center’s Excellence in Legal Education Award and ABA’s Legal Writing Excellence Award. Selected by NAWBO and Bank of America as 2018 Woman Business Owner of the Year, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia as 2018 Small Business Person of the Year, she received numerous awards for her civic leadership.
Featured in “The Road to Independence, 101 Women’s Journeys to Starting Their Own Firms”, she taught at the college, business and law school level. She has written and spoken extensively on legal and business ethics, professionalism, litigation strategy and alternate dispute resolution. She is particularly committed to combatting bullying and bias is the profession and business community. An honors graduate of Binghamton University and University of Pennsylvania Law School, she is admitted to practice in Arizona, New York and Pennsylvania. Fran can be reached at fgriesing@griesinglaw.com and you can find more information about her work on the Griesing Mazzeo Law website.
Hon. Philip Hadji
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Philip S. Hadji was appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on September 28, 2023.
Before his appointment, Judge Hadji served as a civilian attorney with the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of the Navy from 2011 to 2023. He served as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Naval Litigation Office from 2022 to 2023, an Associate Counsel and then Deputy Counsel in the District of Columbia Office of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command from 2020 to 2022, an Assistant Counsel and then Division Director in the Acquisition Integrity Office from 2016 to 2020, and an Assistant Counsel at the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center from 2011 to 2016.
Judge Hadji received his LL.M. in Government Procurement Law from George Washington University Law School in 2011, his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2009, and his A.B., cum laude, from Hamilton College in 2004.
David Harrington
President, United States Court of Federal Claims Bar Association
Craig Holman
Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Craig Holman represents clients in federal, state, and local procurement matters. Craig litigates claims, default terminations, and protests (pre-award, post-award, status, and size). Craig also defends False Claims Act cases and litigates prime contractor-subcontractor, teaming agreement, and joint venture disputes related to government contracts, including complex breach of contract and construction cases. Craig has litigated cases before various forums, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, numerous federal district and state courts, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, various boards of contract appeals, and the American Arbitration Association. Craig also has successfully resolved many matters without litigation.
Craig counsels clients on a wide variety of federal procurement law issues including, but not limited to, suspension and debarment, procurement integrity, terminations for convenience and default, personal and organizational conflicts of interest, anticounterfeit compliance, the Anti-Deficiency Act, the government contractor defense, the Truth In Negotiations Act, the Defense Bases Act, the War Hazards Act, preparation of subcontracts and teaming agreements, cost principles, small business contracting, U.S. General Services Administration schedule contracting, and federal contracts compliance.
Hon. Marian Blank Horn
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Marian Blank Horn was appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims in 1986 and again in 2003. She is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University and received a J.D. degree from the Fordham University School of Law. In 1995, she received the Dean's Medal of Recognition from the law school. Before being appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims, Judge Horn served as Acting Solicitor and Principal Deputy Solicitor at the United States Department of the Interior, and as Associate Solicitor for General Law and Deputy Associate Solicitor for Surface Mining, also at the United States Department of the Interior. She formerly served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Procurement and Financial Incentives, Senior Attorney for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Litigation Attorney at the Department of Energy. Judge Horn is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School, teaching Negotiations and Alternative Dispute Resolution in the LL.M. program and Trial Advocacy in the J.D. program. She also has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the Washington College of Law, American University and served as project manager for the United States Department of Justice "Study of Alternatives to Conventional Criminal Adjudication" at the College of Law.
Her previous experience includes private law practice and service as a prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Appeals Bureau in the District Attorney's Office, Bronx County, New York. Judge Horn has participated as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. She speaks frequently to high school, college and law school audiences on the challenges faced by working women and on topics related to civil and criminal law. She is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court and State and Federal Courts in New York and Washington, D.C. She has received numerous government awards for outstanding and excellent performance at the United States Departments of Energy and Interior, as well as awards and scholarships in law school and college.
Daniel Horner
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Daniel T. Horner was appointed as a Special Master of The United States Court of Federal Claims on June 3, 2019. He attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a B.A. in History, magna cum laude, in June of 2004 as well as an M.A. in History in 2007. In 2008, he received his J.D., cum laude, from the University at Buffalo School of Law.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Horner served for over five years as a staff attorney in the court's Office of Special Masters. From 2008 to 2013, he worked in the appellate unit at Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., where he handled appeals and major motions in toxic tort cases.
Mr. Horner is admitted to the bar of New York as well as United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Hon. Elaine D. Kaplan
Chief Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Judge Elaine D. Kaplan was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on November 1, 2013. On March 2, 2021, President Biden designated her as Chief Judge. Judge Kaplan joined the court after serving as the Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Prior to being designated Acting Director in April 2013, she had served as OPM's General Counsel, a position to which she was appointed in 2009. Judge Kaplan began her legal career in the Solicitor's Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, first in the Employee Benefits Division and then in the Division of Special Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation. Between 1984 and 1998, she litigated and supervised the litigation of cases at all levels of the federal court system as an attorney at the National Treasury Employees Union, an organization to which she returned in 2004 as Senior Deputy General Counsel. In 1998, Judge Kaplan was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to serve a five-year term as the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency whose mission is to protect the merit-based civil service.
From 2003 to 2004, Judge Kaplan was "of counsel" to Bernabei and Katz, a nationally recognized plaintiff's side employment law and civil rights firm. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Judge Kaplan earned a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1979, and a bachelor's degree in history from the State University of New York in Binghamton in 1976.
Hon. Carolyn N. Lerner
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Carolyn N. Lerner was appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Biden on February 18, 2022. Judge Lerner joined the Court after serving for four years as the Chief Circuit Mediator for the federal courts in the District of Columbia Circuit.
In 2011, Judge Lerner was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent law enforcement agency whose mission is to enforce the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), as well as protect federal employees from prohibited personnel practices. She served in that position until 2017.
From 1997 until 2011, Judge Lerner was a partner in an employment and civil rights firm, Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman. While at the firm, she served as a federal court-appointed Special Master in a sexual harassment and retaliation class action. Judge Lerner is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School.
Judge Lerner earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law where she was a Root-Tilden public interest scholar. After law school, she clerked for Chief United States District Court Judge Julian Abele Cook, Jr., in the Eastern District of Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree from the Honors College at the University of Michigan, and as an undergraduate was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Hon. Charles F. Lettow
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Judge Lettow was appointed a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on July 14, 2003, and entered on duty on July 22, 2003. He previously spent more than 30 years as a litigator with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, first as an associate from 1973-1976, and then as a partner from 1976-2003. During that time, he argued three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and more than 40 cases in the federal courts of appeals, and handled numerous cases in federal trial courts.
Prior to joining Cleary, Gottlieb, Judge Lettow served as Counsel, Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President, from 1970 to 1973. He was a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Supreme Court of the United States, during 1969-1970, and was a law clerk to Judge Ben C. Duniway, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, during 1968-1969. Judge Lettow received an LL.B. degree from Stanford University in 1968, where he was Note Editor of the Stanford Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif. He also received a B.S.Ch.E. from Iowa State University in 1962, and a M.A. in history from Brown University in 2001. From 1963 to 1965, Judge Lettow served in the U.S. Army with the Third Infantry Division.
While at Cleary, Gottlieb, Judge Lettow was active with educational institutions and bar organizations. He served as chairman of the board of trustees of The Potomac School from 1985-1988, and as a member of the board from 1983-1990. He also was chairman of the Environmental Controls Committee of the Section of Business Law, American Bar Association, from 1983-1987. He has been a member of the American Law Institute since 1994.
In January 1992, Judge Lettow received an award from the National Association of Attorneys General "for sustained assistance to the States in their preparation for appearances before the Supreme Court of the United States." In 1997 and 1998, he received awards from the National State and Local Legal Center for amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court
Judge Lettow maintains an interest in academic research on historical topics, particularly in the Tudor-Stuart period in England and the corresponding colonial period in the United States. He also sustains an interest in agriculture and farming. He is married and resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. He and his wife have four children.
Hon. Edward H. Meyers
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Judge Meyers was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 20, 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner with Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP from 2012–2020. Before joining Stein Mitchell, he was an associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP from 2006–2012. While in private practice, Judge Meyers focused on complex civil litigation and tried cases in state and federal courts across the country. From 2005–2006, Judge Meyers served as a law clerk to the Honorable Loren A. Smith, Senior Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Judge Meyers was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He received his JD, summa cum laude, from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. He received the John L. Garvey Faculty Award, which is awarded to the graduate with the highest academic average, and was an associate editor of the Catholic University Law Review. Judge Meyers received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Judge Meyers is married and has one son and two stepsons.
Christian Moran
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Mr. Moran was appointed as Special Master on December 8, 2005. He entered duty on January 17, 2006.
Before his appointment, Mr. Moran worked for five years as a Trial Attorney in the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch. Mr. Moran represented the United States at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Court of Federal Claims in cases involving government contracts, military and civilian personnel, and veterans' benefits.
Previously, Mr. Moran served as a law clerk to Judge Edward J. Damich at the United States Court of Federal Claims. Mr. Moran also was an associate with the firm Spinella & Jaffe, P.C., in Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Moran's practice focused on representing plaintiffs in personal injury, workers' compensation and civil rights actions. Mr. Moran began his legal career as a law clerk to the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court.
Mr. Moran graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law with honors. In law school, Mr. Moran won the American Jurisprudence awards for Evidence and Federal Courts. Before beginning law school, Mr. Moran served as a full-time volunteer house parent in Boys Hope (now Boys Hope / Girls Hope). He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, with honors.
Sharon D. Nelson
President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., is the President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., a digital forensics, cybersecurity and information technology firm in Fairfax, Virginia.
Ms. Nelson is a co-host of the Legal Talk Network podcast series called The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology as well as Digital Detectives.
She is a frequent author (eighteen books published by the ABA and hundreds of articles) and speaker on legal technology, cybersecurity and electronic evidence topics. She was the President of the Virginia State Bar June 2013–June 2014 and a past President of the Fairfax Law Foundation and the Fairfax Bar Association. She may be reached at snelson@senseient.com.
Corinne Niosi
Assistant Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, United States Department of Justice
Corinne Niosi is an Assistant Director with the National Courts Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch, United States Department of Justice. As a member of the section’s Bid Protest and CDA Teams, Ms. Niosi handles procurement protests and tries breach of contract claims. She also represents the government in appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Ms. Niosi joined the Department of Justice in 2009 after working in the litigation practice group of Morgan Lewis. Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Ms. Niosi clerked for the Hon. Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Niosi holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America Law School and a B.A. in political science from Fairfield University.
Kate Oler
Special Master, United States 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.
Joe Regalia
Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Joe is a law professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, the number-one U.S. News-ranked law school in the nation for legal writing training. He is a nationally recognized legal writing trainer and consultant for law firms, federal and state courts, federal and state agencies, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies.
Joe has led hundreds of workshops for federal trial and appellate judges, state judges, federal teams like the Department of Justice, state and federal agencies, major corporate legal teams, and more. He is frequently asked to offer keynotes at major conferences and organizations. Joe’s research and teaching focus on legal writing, persuasion science, technology, and innovation.
Before co-founding Write.law and joining the law faculty, Joe graduated first in his class at the University of Michigan Law School, clerked for the Ninth Circuit, and practiced at three AmLaw 100 firms.
Lisa Reyes
Clerk of Court, United States Court of Federal Claims
Lisa Reyes joined the staff of the United States Court of Federal Claims Clerk’s Office in 1995 and served as Assistant and Staff Attorney to the Clerk of Court until 2003 when she was selected as Chief Deputy Clerk for Operations. In 2014, Ms. Reyes became the Chief Deputy Clerk of the court and served in this capacity until May 2016 when the court designated her as the Acting Clerk of Court. In August 2017, the court designated her Clerk of Court.
Before joining the court, she worked for the Allegheny County Bar Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the law firm Jones, Gregg, Creehan and Gerace, LLP; and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Ms. Reyes is an honors graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where she majored in industrial management and received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
H. David Rosenbloom
Professor, New York University School of Law
H. David Rosenbloom is an attorney specializing in international tax matters. He is a member of Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, a law firm in Washington, DC, and the James S. Eustice Visiting Professor of Taxation and Director of the International Tax Program at New York University School of Law. Born in New York, NY in 1941, Mr. Rosenbloom attended Princeton University, the University of Florence in Florence, Italy, and Harvard Law School. He served as President of the Harvard Law Review, assistant to Ambassador Arthur Goldberg at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and clerk to Justice Abe Fortas at the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Rosenbloom was International Tax Counsel and Director of the Office of International Tax Affairs in the United States Treasury Department from January 1978 through January 1981. A frequent speaker and author on tax subjects, he has taught international taxation and related subjects at Stanford, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and New York University Law Schools, and at educational institutions in Taiwan, Mexico, Italy, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, and South Africa. He has also served as a Tax Policy Advisor for the U.S. Treasury, the OECD, AID, and the World Bank in Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Senegal, Malawi, and South Africa.
Mindy Michaels Roth
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Mindy Michaels Roth was appointed as a Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 19, 2015. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences in 1982. She received her J.D. from Seton Hall University in 1988. Ms. Roth spent 27 years in the private sector specializing in medical malpractice, personal injury and vaccine related injury cases being admitted to the United States Claims Court in 1990 to pursue vaccine related injury cases pursuant to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Ms. Roth is admitted to the bars of the State of New Jersey, United States District Court for the State of New Jersey, United States Court of Federal Claims, United States Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.
Rebecca Saltiel
General Attorney, Office of the Chief Counsel, United States Department of Treasury
Rebecca Saltiel is a senior attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury. Rebecca serves as a legal advisor to the Judgment Fund Branch at Fiscal Service. In addition to her work with the Judgment Fund, Rebecca also works on a wide variety of legal matters in areas including government securities regulation, electronic payments, and fiscal and financial agent authority. Prior to her work at Treasury, Rebecca was an attorney in private practice in California and New Mexico. Rebecca holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The College of William and Mary in Virginia.
Herbrina Sanders
Special Master, United States Court of Federal Claims
Herbrina D. Sanders was appointed and entered duty as a Special Master of the United States Court of Federal Claims on January 9, 2017. She graduated in 2002 from Stanford University with a B.A. in Human Biology, and she received her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 2005 as a National Association of Women Lawyers’ Outstanding Woman Graduate.
Prior to her appointment to the Office of Special Masters, Ms. Sanders worked as a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney from 2005 to 2013. There, she investigated and prosecuted cases involving sex crimes and sexual abuse of adults and children, armed robbery, and fraud. In 2011, she received the Trial Court Lawyer of the Year award for her role in the District Attorney’s Office.
From 2013 to her appointment to the Office of Special Masters, Ms. Sanders worked as a Trial Attorney in the United States’ Department of Justice, Criminal Division. As a DOJ attorney, Ms. Sanders led investigations and prosecutions in cases involving crimes against children, including sex trafficking, child pornography offenses, and child physical and sexual abuse. She is admitted to the bar of Georgia.
Hon. Molly R. Silfen
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Molly R. Silfen was appointed to the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on June 13, 2023.
Before her appointment, from 2013 to 2023, Judge Silfen served as an Associate Solicitor in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. During her government service, she spent two years detailed to serve as a counsel on the Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Judge Silfen also completed a one-year detail as an appellate attorney in the Appellate Section of the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice.
Before that, Judge Silfen practiced intellectual property law as an associate at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett, and Dunner LLP. She also served for two years as a law clerk to Judge Alan D. Lourie on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Judge Silfen has spent twelve years as an adjunct professor at George Mason Law School, teaching classes on appellate practice before the Federal Circuit.
Judge Silfen received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Yale University.
John W. Simek
Vice President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Mr. Simek is the Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., an information technology, digital forensics and cybersecurity firm located in Fairfax, VA. Mr. Simek has a national reputation as a digital forensics technologist and has testified as an expert witness throughout the United States. He holds a degree in engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and an MBA in finance from Saint Joseph’s University.
Mr. Simek holds the prestigious CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certifications. He is also holds multiple technical certifications for diverse technologies to include Microsoft, Novell, mobile devices, digital forensics and computer networking environments. Mr. Simek is also a member of the High Tech Crime Network as well as the American Bar Association and the Fairfax Bar Association. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Law Foundation and Fairfax CASA.
He is a past chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2019, co-host of the Legal Talk Network podcast Digital Detectives, and a co-author of eighteen books to include Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers, 2nd Edition (American Bar Association 2016), Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers (American Bar Association, 2015) and The 2008–2020 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide: Critical Decisions Made Simple (American Bar Association, 2008-2020) as well as other titles. He is a frequent author and speaker on information security, legal technology and electronic evidence throughout the country. He may be reached at jsimek@senseient.com.
Hon. Matthew H. Solomson
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Matthew H. Solomson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in January 2020, and entered on duty at the court on February 4, 2020. The son of a retired U.S. Army colonel, Judge Solomson lived in eight states before starting high school in Maryland, where he currently resides with his family. He completed a B.A. in Economics, cum laude, from Brandeis University. In 2002, Judge Solomson graduated, with honors and Order of the Coif, from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and earned an M.B.A. (with a concentration in accounting) from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Judge Solomson is the author of Court of Federal Claims: Jurisdiction, Practice, and Procedure, a legal treatise first published by Bloomberg BNA in 2016.
Prior to joining the court, Judge Solomson served as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer for an $11B federal contracting business unit of a Fortune 50 healthcare company. In that role, Judge Solomson managed a team of attorneys, compliance professionals, and internal auditors. He also previously led the government contracts practice group within the in-house law department of Booz Allen Hamilton, while serving as the principal government contracts counsel to the company's intelligence business unit. Judge Solomson's private practice experience includes having served as Counsel in the government contracts and litigation practice groups of Sidley Austin LLP, and as an Associate with Arnold & Porter LLP, both in Washington, DC.
In addition to his private sector experience, Judge Solomson was a Trial Attorney with the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he represented a variety of military and civilian agencies as counsel of record in dozens of cases before the National Courts, which include the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Following law school, Judge Solomson served as a law clerk to Judge Francis M. Allegra of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Judge Solomson has served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he taught government contracts law for more than a decade; he currently teaches an introductory business law course at Yeshiva University’s business school.
Hon. Zachary N. Somers
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Judge Zachary N. Somers was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on December 22, 2020, by President Donald J. Trump. Prior to his appointment, Judge Somers served as Chief Investigative Counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary under Chairman Lindsey Graham. Before moving to the Senate, he served for over a decade on the House Committee on the Judiciary under Chairmen Lamar Smith and Bob Goodlatte, in multiple positions, including as the Committee's General Counsel & Parliamentarian and as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Judge Somers worked at a boutique law firm that specializes in litigation before the Court of Federal Claims. He served as a law clerk to Judge Victor Wolski on the Court of Federal Claims. A native of Washington, D.C., Judge Somers earned his A.B. from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Cass Sunstein
Professor, Harvard Law
Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President’s Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech.
Anuj Vohra
Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP
Anuj Vohra is a Partner at Crowell & Moring LLP. Anuj counsels government contractors on issues from proposal submission through contract closeout, and maintains an active commercial litigation and bid protest practice before numerous tribunals. Prior to joining private practice, Anuj spent six years as a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Commercial Litigation Branch, where he litigated a variety of matters before the Court of Federal Claims and the Federal Circuit, and served as a member of DOJ’s Bid Protest Team. He is a former co-chair of the American Bar Association, Section of Public Contract Law’s Bid Protest Committee, a member of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Advisory Council, Bid Protests and Contracts Committee, and previously served on the Board of Governors of the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association.
Hon. Victor J. Wolski
Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims
Judge Wolski was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims by President George W. Bush on July 14, 2003 and entered duty on July 24, 2003. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a B.A. in History from the College of Arts and Sciences and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School. Following graduation, he served as research associate to a supply-side economist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at the Institute for Political Economy. In 1988, he served in the Reagan Administration as speech writer to Secretary of Agriculture Richard Lyng, and in 1989 he served in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, in the General Counsel's office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Judge Wolski received his J.D. in 1991 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as president of the Federalist Society and as a member of the editorial board of the Virginia Tax Review. In 1991-92, he served as law clerk to Judge Vaughn R. Walker on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. From 1992 to 1997 he was an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, where he was counsel of record at the petition stage in Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 520 U.S. 725 (1997). From 1997 to 2000, Judge Wolski served as tax counsel to Senator Connie Mack (R-FL), a member of the United States Senate Committee on Finance. He was General Counsel and Chief Tax Adviser to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress in 1999 and 2000. From 2000 to 2003, Judge Wolski was an attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firms Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal and Cooper & Kirk. He is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the District of Columbia, the states of California, Washington, and Oregon, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and the Federal Circuits, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and several other federal courts. Judge Wolski is a member of the Supreme Court Historical Society, the J. Edgar Murdock Inn of Court (for tax practitioners), and the editorial board of the Public Contract Law Journal.
Kathy Zeiler
Professor, Boston University
Professor Kathryn Zeiler joined BU Law’s full-time faculty as the Nancy Barton Scholar and professor of law in July 2015. Prior to joining BU’s faculty, Professor Zeiler was a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center (2003–2015). She has held visiting professorships at Harvard Law School, NYU School of Law, Boston University School of Law, and Heidelberg University. Professor Zeiler serves as a Fellow and current Chair of the board of directors for the Society of Empirical Legal Studies. She was elected to serve as the 2020–2021 Secretary-Treasurer for the American Law and Economics Association and is currently serving as Vice President. She was elected in 2022 to a three-year term on the board of the Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-Research and Open Science and currently serves as Vice President. She was appointed in 2021 to the Advisory Board of ReplicationWiki. She holds positions on the editorial board of the American Law and Economics Review and Behavioral Science and Policy. She has served as a member of the Max Planck Institute’s Scientific Review Board for Research on Collective Goods (2011–2018) and as a member of the board of directors of the American Law and Economics Association (2010–2012). She is a regular peer-reviewer for a number of economics, law and economics, health policy and medical journals.