This one-hour substantive webinar will allow attendees to learn how to position themselves for a top spot in a prosecutor's office. Topics will include, but are not limited to: whether to run for an elected DA position, seek an appointment in an administration, and/or take initiative to seek an Executive-level promotion (internally or externally (transition from private practice).

Panelists:

Elizabeth L. Mo (Moderator), The Law Firm of Hugh H. Mo, P.C. —  Elizabeth represents individuals and corporations in white collar criminal investigations and trials, enforcement actions, complex civil litigation, and compliance oversight. 

Ms. Mo is an accomplished first-chair trial and appellate lawyer.  She has won numerous trials and appeals in state and federal court, many resulting in published decisions. In addition to her trial work, she has guided clients through grand jury investigations and has negotiated favorable non prosecution agreements with state and federal authorities. 
Ms. Mo has a longstanding commitment to public service.  Prior to law school, she was an U.S. Department of Justice Outstanding Scholars Program Paralegal Specialist in the Public Integrity Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.  While in law school, she served as a Legal Extern at the U.S. Department of Labor, New York Regional Solicitor’s Office.

She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, in the Trial and Investigation Divisions including the Crime Strategies Unit and the Financial Frauds Bureau. She was also Legal Counsel at an NYC events and catering company that assisted domestic violence and human trafficking survivors with job training and employment. There, she oversaw labor and employment, internal policies and investigations. 

She is currently a Co-Chair of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Government Enforcement and Compliance Committee.  She is also a member of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and the New York City Bar Association. 

Ms. Mo received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.  She received her B.A. in International Relations, cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College. Ms. Mo is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.  She has two rambunctious toddler boys.

Leesa Manion, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office —  Leesa is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first Asian-American to be elected to serve as King County Prosecuting Attorney. Leesa is also the first Korean-American woman in the United States to be elected Prosecuting Attorney. Prior to her election in 2022, Leesa served as Chief of Staff of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO) for 15 years.  

During the course of her career, Leesa has implemented effective programs that have improved public safety, enhanced victim services, and reduced racial disproportionality. She was a co-founding partner of Choose 180, a proven and effective pre-filed diversion program that helped reduce juvenile crime to all time lows. Leesa was also a key stakeholder in launching the PAO’s Regional Domestic Violence Firearm Enforcement Unit, which leads the nation in its multi-disciplinary approach to tracking and enforcing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), as well as the removal, storage and return of surrendered firearms across all of King County.  

Leesa serves on the Boards of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and is an award-winning member of the Korean Prosecutors Association and a member of the Korean American Bar Association (KABA) of Washington.  She is a former Board Member for Pioneer Human Services and the Beecher's Foundation. 

Leesa was an advisor for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) “Unbundle Policing” Solve Venture Lab Initiative, which focused on improving public safety and policing in the United States.  She was also a member of the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Leadership Network, which was organized within Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.

Outside of the office Leesa enjoys spending time with her two teenage children.

Raj Parekh, United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia —  As the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), Raj helps lead a staff of over 300 federal prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel in a district that serves over six million residents. Raj is a career federal prosecutor who has tried over 40 cases to verdict. He has investigated and prosecuted cases involving national security and international crimes, violent crimes, narcotics, cybercrime, health care fraud, and other white-collar offenses. Raj also serves as the Co-Chair of EDVA’s Diversity Committee.

Raj received the Director’s Award from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for Superior Performance in United States v. Mohamad Jamal Khweis, which led to the June 2017 conviction of the first individual to face a jury trial in the United States after having joined the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in ISIS territory. Raj also received the Anti-Defamation League’s SHIELD Award for his contributions in the fight against extremism and terrorism. Raj recently received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for the historic prosecution of the ISIS “Beatles,” Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, both of whom were convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for their participation in a hostage-taking scheme involving the detention of 26 hostages from 12 countries that resulted in the deaths of American, British, and Japanese nationals in Syria.

Raj previously served as an Assistant General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and as a Trial Attorney in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as counsel at IBM and as a litigation associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Raj earned his B.A. degree with magna cum laude honors from The George Washington University, and his J.D. with cum laude honors from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In Jan. 2021, Raj became the first person of color in the 232-year history of the Office to serve as EDVA’s chief federal law enforcement official when he served as Acting U.S. Attorney until Oct. 2021.

Brian Lee, Nassau County District Attorney's Office —  After obtaining a JD from Pace University Law School, in 1995, ADA Lee started his career at the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. There, he prosecuted a broad range of felony cases over the next 13 years, including homicides, shootings, robberies, burglaries, assaults, sex crimes, domestic violence, and drug offenses. In addition to conducting nearly 30 trials, ADA Lee also wrote over 25 briefs and argued more than a dozen cases in the appellate courts, including N.Y. Court of Appeals and U.S. Court of Appeals - Second Circuit. In 2008, ADA Lee joined the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office (NCDA). Since then, he has conducted high-profile trials, including murder, gun-point home invasion, and serial gun-point robbery. ADA Lee has also conducted numerous trial advocacy programs for ADAs, trained NCPD detectives, and investigated police shootings. During his tenure at NCDA, ADA Lee has progressively risen through the ranks - from Deputy Bureau Chief to Bureau Chief to Deputy Executive ADA (EADA) of Litigation - to his current appointment as the EADA for Administration since 2022. As the EADA for Administration, ADA Lee oversees several departments, including Legal Training & Recruitment, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Finance (Budget, Contracts and Purchasing). He also serves as the Department Head of Equal Employment Opportunity.

Presented by: NAPABA's Government Enforcement and Compliance Committee

Co-Sponsored by: The National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutor's Association (https://napipa.org/)