Washington, DC (Aug. 15, 2016) -- Barry J. Pollack of Washington, DC was sworn in as President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) by United States District Judge Amit P. Mehta at the Association's Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, FL, on August 13. Mr. Pollack previously served NACDL as its President Elect, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Parliamentarian, and on its Board of Directors. Among other capacities, he has served as a chair of the Association's White Collar Crime Committee, Department of Justice Dialogue Committee, and National Security Committee.

Mr. Pollack is a Member at Miller & Chevalier in Washington, DC, where he serves as chair of the firm's White Collar & Internal Investigations practice. He represents individuals and corporations in criminal investigations, trials, and other government enforcement proceedings. Mr. Pollack is a former Assistant Federal Public Defender and is best known as a skilled trial lawyer. As a former CPA, he brings special expertise to complex financial cases. Mr. Pollack obtained acquittals on all counts on behalf of a former executive of Enron Corporation in a federal criminal case, following a month-long jury trial. Mr. Pollack's client was one of only two Enron executives to be acquitted by a jury. Most recently, earlier this year, he obtained acquittals on all counts in a federal criminal jury trial in Virginia on behalf of a business executive charged with fraud and bribery in the procurement of government contracts from the Army National Guard.

"There is no more powerful advocate for fairness in the criminal justice system than NACDL," Mr. Pollack said. "I am honored to be selected to serve as the President of such a vitally important organization. Indeed, I am a far better lawyer and better person today because of what I learn from my NACDL colleagues. Individually, we help one client at a time, and together we are transforming criminal justice in this country."

Mr. Pollack has been extensively honored for his pro bono work representing the wrongfully convicted, which included his representation of Martin Tankleff, whose double murder conviction was reversed and all charges against him dismissed after he had served 17 years in prison, and his representation of Fernando Bermudez, who was exonerated after having served 18 years for a murder he did not commit. Currently, Mr. Pollack serves on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, where he previously served as president, and he is a member of the board of directors of Law Students in Court. 

A graduate with high honors from Indiana University and a magna cum laude graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, Mr. Pollack was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2008, and in 2013 as a Fellow in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. He has been listed in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America®, Washington's Top Lawyers (Washingtonian Magazine), Legal 500, Ethisphere Institute's Attorneys Who Matter, and the American Trial Lawyer Association's Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Washington, DC. He received the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' Gideon Champion of Justice Award in 2008 and the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project Defender of Innocence Award in 2009. 

Read more about Barry J. Pollack here and here.

A photo of Mr. Pollack is available here. PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Volodymyr Bukalo of Dupont Photographers, © NACDL 2016

Contacts

Ivan J. Dominguez, NACDL Director of Public Affairs & Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org for more information.

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.