Clayton OConnor

Advise generals and senior leaders on legal implications for policies, including ethics, First Amendment liberties, issuing guidance, procurement, and personnel impacting approximately 500K service members.

• Co-teach class of 10 students how to analyze fact patterns, identify issues, present arguments and question witnesses to best advocate on client’s behalf during trials.

• Assess and critique individual student presentation skills to build competence and confidence in live litigation-based performances.

Provide strategic oversight to ensure sound governance, financial stability and community engagement for an outstanding early childhood education program.

Directed 100+ multi-agency law enforcement teams throughout United States to investigate and prosecute international crimes involving fraud, immigration, human rights, and violent crimes. Guide investigations to identify, collect and analyze admissible evidence. Represent the United States in grand jury presentations, motion hearings and trial. Draft motions, trial briefs, sentencing memos, warrants, international evidence requests, and extraditions.

Litigation & Investigation

• Lead interviews of key witnesses with interagency partners, leveraging adaptable communication and emotional intelligence, often navigating language barriers and cultural norms, to build rapport and focus on collection of relevant evidence and information toward successful prosecutions.

• Expert in resolving intractable, decade-long cases that require higher-level strategic direction, investigative guidance, relationship building skills, and organization of discovery and e-discovery.

• Directed 10+ member team in a decade-long investigation generating approximately 50,000 documents, finalized foreign evidence collection and charges of individuals in a foreign-based human smuggling ring.

• Prosecuted extradition of Colombian criminals for violent kidnapping and assault of U.S. service members by organizing the efforts of 15+ attorneys, investigators, and staff in 3 countries.

• Led 5+ member team through intricate contested privilege review, managing protected discovery, coordinating with counsel, and successfully litigating nonprivileged status of materials to provide to trial team, contributing to prosecution of intelligence officer’s ongoing criminal activities abroad.

Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management

• Advise 30+ attorneys as Discovery Coordinator, providing guidance in resolving complex evidence-collection and disclosure issues and ensuring compliance with discovery rules.

• Established and implemented privilege protocol to advise 30+ attorneys on preserving the integrity of criminal investigations by preventing inadvertent exposure of constitutionally protected materials.

• Train and liaise with law enforcement and interagency partners on application of U.S. law; consult with law enforcement on merits and direction of criminal complaints toward successful and appropriate resolutions.

• Strengthened Department of Justice legal guidance with updated framework and authority for prosecuting and investigating international immigration crimes including human smuggling and document fraud.

Leadership

• Motivate progress through calm demeanor and diplomacy with challenging internal and external stakeholders to defuse tension, gain buy-in and ultimately drive a better investigative process and outcome.

• Coach and sharpen arguments for junior attorneys and apply higher-level problem solving while anticipating potential problems in litigation to produce highest possible quality product and outcome.

• Direct and manage relationships with law enforcement and agency partners, coordinate strategy, delegate work product and ensure alignment with litigation objectives.

• Guided 10+ member team to prosecute foreign nationals, including organization of 15,000+ files, in decade-long investigation of fraud and money laundering ploy that bolstered a popular makeup company.

Led team of 28 legal professionals in largest combat-oriented base supporting 45K-member military community and advised senior leaders on legal and regulatory guidelines.

Instructed 100+ new attorneys on trial practice, including identifying and framing issues, presenting witnesses and admitting evidence to best advocate on behalf of clients in military courts.

Argued before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, identifying key issues in the trial record, framing positions, and researching legal precedent to advocate in written briefs and oral arguments.

• Prosecuted 250+ cases involving violent crimes, weapons and narcotics trafficking and obstruction-related conduct;

• First chair for 60+ bench and jury trials;

• Led dozens of grand jury investigations;

• Routinely drafted and argued motions, pretrial detention hearings, and sentencing arguments.

• Collaborated with law enforcement agents to investigate complex cases, lead interviews, execute warrants, evaluate evidence, prepare discovery, and draft high-impact charging documents.

Provided legal counsel and guidance on environmental compliance, regulatory matters and policy issues affecting Air Force installations and operations.