The FBA Board of Directors are the governing body of the association.
The Board of Directors consists of the president, president-elect, treasurer, and 12 elected directors who represent segments of the membership. There are three ex officio members and the executive director who attend Board meetings but are non-voting members of the Board.
Officers
Christian K. Adams is the founder and managing partner at Adams Krek LLP headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii where he concentrates his practice on complex civil and appellate litigation.
W. West Allen is an intellectual property litigator and counselor in Las Vegas who represents a wide variety of international clients in federal courts.
Anh Le Kremer has been an active member of the FBA since the start of her legal career in 2001. Her involvement with the FBA began with the Minnesota Chapter, where she was a member of the Executive Committee.....
Elected Members
The Honorable Alison S. Bachus is entering her third year as a board member for the FBA. Last year, she served on the Budget and Finance Committee, the Community Service and Outreach Committee, and the Special Committee on Women in the Law.
Jeanette M. Bazis is a partner at Greene Espel PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a highly regarded litigator whose practice focuses largely on complex business, intellectual property, and employment litigation.
John (“Joey”) Bowers, who serves the FBA in his personal capacity, is counsel for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C.
Andrew K. (“Andy”) Clark has been an active member of the FBA since 2001. A partner in the Richmond, Virginia office of Hirschler, his practice focuses on high-stakes business litigation involving commercial and contract disputes; construction and mechanic’s lien disputes; personal injury and wrongful death prosecution and defense; estate and trust disputes; and other general civil matters.
Joseph S. Leventhal’s experience and involvement with the FBA is significant, broad, and unique. At the national level of the FBA, he served on the Community Service Committee, the Government Relations Committee, and the SOLACE Committee; was a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee; was on the board of the YLD; and previously served as the chair of the Chapter Activity Fund Committee.
Kevin A. Maxim is the principal of The Maxim Law Firm P.C. in Atlanta. He litigated in national law firms for 14 years before forming The Maxim Law Firm more than 10 years ago. The firm’s litigation practice focuses on issues arising from contracts, real estate, the internet, fraud, insurance, and a gamut of business disputes, including those arising from restrictive covenants and trade secrets.
The Honorable Karoline Mehalchick is a United States Magistrate Judge in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she was appointed to the bench of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on July 15, 2013
Kelly Titus Scalise has been a member of the Federal Bar Association for over 18 years and has served in a leadership role for all of those years. After joining the FBA in November 2001, Scalise became a board member of the Younger Lawyers Division (YLD) of the New Orleans Chapter.
John has significant experience representing individuals and businesses in a variety of civil and criminal litigation, as well as providing strategic advice in science policy and research administration matters. John is a partner with Healy Hafemann Magee in Roanoke, Virginia.
Jessica R. Toplin is a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Jessica joined the DOJ in 2008 through the attorney general’s honors program. She specializes in government contracts and federal employment litigation and represents various federal agencies before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
The Honorable Mimi E. Tsankov (personal capacity) has served as an immigration judge with the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, since 2006, where she has presided over detained and nondetained dockets at the Los Angeles Immigration Court, the Denver Immigration Court, and the New York Immigration Court.
Christine “Christie” Companion Varnado joined The Seibels Law Firm, P.A. in Charleston, South Carolina as a partner in 2009. Since 1993, her civil litigation practice has...
Ex Officio Members
The Honorable Barry W. Ashe is a United States District Judge in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was appointed to the bench of the United States District Court for the eastern District of Louisiana on August 30, 2018.
Adine S. Momoh currently serves as an Eighth Circuit Vice President of the Federal Bar Association and Chair for the Federal Bar Association’s Younger Lawyers Division.
Matt has been active in the FBA since 2004. He has been a board member of the Younger Lawyers Division for several years and has recently served as Chair. He is also the co-chair of the FBA’s Supreme Court Admissions Program, which is coordinated by the YLD.
Maria Z. Vathis is Of Counsel at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in Chicago. She has been a member of the Federal Bar Association since the beginning of her legal career.
Mike Vitale is partner at the law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP, where he has practiced law since 2007. His practice includes civil and complex business litigation across the State of Florida, where he has trial experience at both the federal and state level.
Liasions to the Board
Cal Chipchase is a partner with the Honolulu law firm of Cades Schutte LLP. Cal practices in the areas of real estate, employment and commercial litigation and land use zoning and entitlements.