U.S. Attorney Erskine announces eight new additions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office team

ATLANTA – U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine announced the appointment of eight new Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) who will immediately employ their talents to support the Northern District of Georgia’s (NDGA) mission to enforce the law and defend the interests of the citizens that we serve in this district.

“We are fortunate to have such talented and dedicated professionals join us to represent the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “We are committed to excellence in our service to this country as well as the citizens of the Northern District of Georgia and welcome these outstanding Assistant U.S. Attorneys to the office.”

The following AUSAs joined our office or have assumed new roles:

• Mary Jane Stewart, a career public servant, has returned to the United States Attorney’s Office as Senior Trial Counsel in the Criminal Division, after having served over four years as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee, and then as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the district.  Hired as an AUSA in 1983 in Atlanta, she has handled hundreds of criminal cases and tried scores of jury trials.  During her tenure, she also served as the Deputy Chief of the Drug Division, Senior Litigation Counsel, and the Criminal Division’s Training Coordinator.  From 2002 until her departure in October 2017, she and former AUSA William R. Toliver trained over 100 newly hired AUSAs to be federal prosecutors.  She holds three degrees from the University of Georgia:  a BA in French (1975), a MA in Political Science (1977), and her Juris Doctor (1980).

• Larry Sommerfeld has rejoined the office as Chief of Appeals and Legal Advice. Larry returns to the office from a partnership at Alston & Bird where he was a member of the firm’s Litigation and Trial Practice Group and its Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy Team. Larry advised clients on their most sensitive cybersecurity matters including significant computer network intrusions, cyber preparedness, and data privacy compliance. He counseled clients on technology and data strategy matters, spanning the life cycle of their digital data across the globe. Previously, Larry served as an AUSA in the Economic Crimes section and led the office’s Cybercrimes unit before being promoted to Appellate Chief. Larry was a member of the trial team that convicted the individuals who assassinated DeKalb County Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown on the orders of the outgoing Sheriff, and argued the case on appeal. He also led the successful investigation and prosecution of one of the most sophisticated and coordinated cyber intrusions ever perpetrated, involving the withdrawal within 12 hours of $9.4 million from more than 2,100 ATM terminals in at least 280 cities worldwide, bringing to justice defendants from four continents. Larry is an MIT graduate and member of the Order of the Coif from the University of Virginia School of Law. He clerked for judges on both the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and has practiced at firms in New York City and Silicon Valley, California.

• AUSA Jeffrey Davis also returns to our office from the Vermont U.S. Attorney’s Office and will serve as Special Counsel in the Criminal Division.  Jeff previously served as the Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section in the NDGA U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Before beginning his federal service, Jeff was a vice president in the anti-money laundering division of an international investment bank. After graduating from law school, he served as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.  Jeff graduated from Connecticut College and Emory University School of Law with honors. Jeff also received a professional certificate in forensic accounting from New York University.

• AUSA Aileen Bell Hughes will serve as Special Counsel in the Civil Division.  Aileen currently leads the Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division and represents the United States in civil rights matters involving disability, housing, education, and other civil rights statutes.  After serving as a civil rights attorney in Connecticut, Hughes joined the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. in 1998 as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Division.  She later transferred to the Civil Rights Division as a Senior Trial Attorney and led several high-profile civil rights investigations involving people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities.  In 2003, Aileen joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia where she defended various federal agencies in civil defensive matters.  In 2010, Aileen was appointed the Civil Rights Coordinator in the Civil Division of the office.  She developed, coordinated, and implemented a new civil rights practice in the NDGA, and was successful in helping to create a Civil Rights Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Aileen received her B.A. cum laude from the University of Connecticut, and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. 

• Sharon Lim will serve as an AUSA in the Civil Division.  Lim served as an associate in the Atlanta office of Jackson Lewis P.C., representing employers in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies on a variety of employment-related matters, including collective and class action wage and hour disputes.  Prior to that, Sharon served as a law clerk for the Hon. Catherine M. Salinas, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Georgia.  Sharon worked in Hawaii for nearly five years before moving to Georgia, first as a law clerk to two state court judges on Maui, and then as an associate in a Honolulu law firm devoted exclusively to the representation of management in labor and employment law matters.  Sharon received her B.A. cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, and her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.

• Natasha Cooper will serve as an AUSA in the Criminal Division.  Cooper served as an Associate in the Complex Commercial Litigation Group of McGuireWoods LLP, where she handled both financial services litigation and regulatory matters. Natasha also served as Regulatory Counsel to Edward Jones where she handled state securities, SEC and FINRA matters for the broker-dealer. She has also been active serving as the past Chair of the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division Litigation Committee. In 2019, the National Black Lawyers named Natasha as a Top 40 under 40 Lawyer. Natasha received her law degree from the Emory University School of Law, where she was a Kessler-Edison Scholar.  She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany Honors College.

• Norman Barnett will serve as an AUSA in the Criminal Division.  Barnett served as a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted a variety of matters, including homicides, serious violent felonies, and organized crime cases. He also served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to his prosecution career, Norman worked as an associate at Swift, Currie, McGee and Hiers, LLP and the Law Offices of W. Calvin Smith, II, P.C. In 2016 and 2018, Norman served as the Musical Director, keyboardist, and band director for the Atlanta Bar Association’s Bard Show.  Additionally, he served on the planning committee for the State Bar of Georgia’s High School Mock Trial program and recently served as the program’s chair.  Norman earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he served as a Notes Editor for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law. He also earned his Bachelor of Arts in English with a music minor from the University of Georgia.

• Vivieon Kelly Jones joins the office from the Department of Justice in Washington, where she served as a trial attorney in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Trustee Program, promoting the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system.  Vivieon entered duty at the Department in 2009 as a trial attorney for the U.S. Trustee Program in the Northern District of Georgia.  Prior to her tenure with the Department, Vivieon worked as an associate at Troutman Pepper where she focused her practice in the areas of bankruptcy reorganizations and complex litigation.  Vivieon earned her law degree from William & Mary Law School, and her B.A. from the College of William & Mary.  She also served as a clerk for Hon. E. Stephen Derby of the Bankruptcy Court in the District of Maryland.  Vivieon is a member of the Civil Division and currently serves as Parliamentarian for DOJABA, the Department's Association of Black Attorneys. 

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.