Washington, DC (July 14, 2025) – Addy R. Schmitt was sworn in to serve as Secretary of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's Annual Meeting on July 12.
Schmitt is a founding partner of Kropf Moseley Schmitt PLLC in Washington, DC, where she represents individuals, corporations, and organizations in criminal government investigations, prosecutions, and regulatory and enforcement proceedings. She also represents these clients in commercial litigation, arbitrations, congressional investigations, and internal investigations. She was previously a partner at Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP, where she was managing partner of the firm’s DC office. Prior to that, Schmitt was a member at Miller & Chevalier Chartered, where she served as vice chair of the Litigation Department. Earlier in her career, Schmitt was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she represented various executive agencies and employees at all stages of litigation. She began her legal career as an associate for Dickstein Shapiro, LLP, and clerked on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Schmitt is very active in the DC legal community: she has served on numerous prominent committees, including the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, and on the selection panels for magistrate judges for both the U.S. District Court and the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she has taught criminal trial advocacy, white collar crime, and taking and defending depositions.
Schmitt has served as NACDL’s Parliamentarian and currently chairs NACDL’s Audit Committee. Schmitt has previously chaired the Task Force on Discovery Reform and co-chaired the Strategic Litigation Committee and the White Collar Crime Committee. She also serves on the Task Forces on Prosecutorial Accountability, Policing and Overcriminalization of Pregnancy, and Rule 17c.
In addition to her committee work, Schmitt co-chair’s NACDL’s West Coast White Collar conference and has served as faculty at numerous NACDL CLE programs, authored comments in support of NACDL advocacy positions, and drafted amicus curiae briefs on behalf of NACDL and articles for The Champion magazine. At the behest of NACDL’s Lawyers’ Assistance Strike Force, she participated in the successful representation of Brig. Gen. John Baker, the head of the Military Commissions Defense Office, in contempt proceedings.
Schmitt earned her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University and her law degree, summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law.
Contacts
Jonathan Hutson, NACDL Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications, 202-480-5343 or jhutson@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
