Congressional Directory for the 117th Congress (2021-2022), October 2022.
[Pages 906-910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                      UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

                           FOR VETERANS CLAIMS

         625 Indiana Avenue, NW., Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004

                           phone (202) 501-5970

     MARGARET BARTLEY, chief judge; was nominated to the United States 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by President Barack Obama on June 
22, 2011, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 24, 2012, appointed by the 
President on June 25, 2012, and took the judicial oath on June 28, 2012, 
for a term of fifteen years. She became Chief Judge of the Veterans 
Court on December 4, 2019. For over 17 years prior to her appointment, 
Chief Judge Bartley served as a veterans advocate, working as staff 
attorney and then senior staff attorney for National Veterans Legal 
Services Program (NVLSP), a veterans service organization. In that 
capacity, she advised and trained staff and service officers for The 
American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of 
America, and other veterans service organizations and State departments 
of veterans affairs, on issues related to veterans benefits and veterans 
preference in Federal employment. She also represented veterans and 
survivors of veterans in their pursuit of VA benefits before the USCAVC 
and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2004 to 
2012, Chief Judge Bartley served as editor of the NVLSP veterans' law 
quarterly, The Veterans Advocate. She also testified before Congress 
concerning federal agency failure to apply veterans preference laws and 
appeared on behalf of amici curiae in several significant veterans 
preference cases. From 2005 until her appointment to the bench, Chief 
Judge Bartley also served as Director of Outreach and Education for the 
Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. In that capacity, she organized 
nationwide training classes for lawyers interested in providing pro bono 
representation to veterans and their survivors before the USCAVC. Prior 
to her career as a veterans advocate, Chief Judge Bartley served as a 
judicial law clerk to the late Judge Jonathan R. Steinberg of the 
USCAVC. Chief Judge Bartley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, 
from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 and a juris doctor degree, 
cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law in 
1993. Aside from her many articles on veterans law published in  The 
Veterans Advocate, Chief Judge Bartley is co-author, co-editor, or 
contributing author of several other articles and publications, 
including the  Veterans Benefits Manual (LexisNexis) (co-author 1999-
2010, co-editor 2011-12);  American Veterans' and Servicemembers' 
Survival Guide (Veterans for America, 2008) (contributing author);  VA 
Benefits for Low-Income Veterans (Clearinghouse Review, Sept-Oct 2006) 
(co-author);  VA's Obligations Toward Claimants: Analysis of the 
Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (Clearinghouse Review, July-
August 2001) (co-author);  The Elderlaw Portfolio Series: Veterans 
Benefits for the Elderly (Little, Brown and Company, 1996) (co-author); 
and  Consideration of Pain and Other Factors in Rating Disabilities 
(Clearinghouse Review, July-August 1996) (co-author).

     CORAL WONG-PIETSCH, judge; born in Waterloo, IA, Judge Pietsch has 
a distinguished career in public service, both in the military and as a 
civilian. She was commissioned in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's 
Corps and served six years on active duty. Judge Pietsch continued her 
service in the U.S. Army Reserve and rose to the rank of Brigadier 
General. She became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of 
Brigadier General in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and 
the first woman of Asian ancestry to be promoted to Brigadier General in 
the Army. Until her appointment to the bench, Judge Pietsch held the 
position of Senior Attorney and Special Assistant at Headquarters, U.S. 
Army Pacific located in Honolulu, Hawaii. In this position, she provided 
and managed legal services in support of the U.S. Army Pacific's mission 
to train Army Forces for military operations and peacetime engagements 
aimed at promoting regional stability. As part of the 2007 ``surge'' in 
Iraq, Judge Pietsch volunteered as a Department of Defense civilian to 
deploy to Iraq for a year, where she was seconded to the U.S. Department 
of State to serve as the Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator for the Baghdad 
Provincial Reconstruction Team. During her deployment to Iraq, Judge 
Pietsch assisted with numerous civil society projects involving a 
variety of Rule of Law partners, including the Iraqi Jurist Union, Iraqi 
Bar Association, law schools, and international rights, women's rights, 
and human rights

[[Page 907]]

organizations. She evaluated and sought funding for numerous projects 
aimed at building capacity within the Iraqi legal community to include 
the establishment, in close collaboration with the Iraqi Bar 
Association, of a Legal Aid Clinic at one of Iraq's largest detention 
facilities. In 2006 Judge Pietsch was appointed by the Governor of 
Hawaii to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission where she served for seven 
years. Shortly after the appointment, the Governor selected Judge 
Pietsch as its Chair. Earlier in her civilian legal career, Judge 
Pietsch had been appointed a Deputy Attorney General for the State of 
Hawaii, advising the State Department of Health, State Department of 
Agriculture, and the State Criminal History Records Division. Judge 
Pietsch's academic degrees include a bachelor of arts, master of arts, 
and a juris doctor degree. She was also a Senior Executive Fellow at the 
Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, is a graduate of the 
Defense Leadership and Management Program, and a graduate of the Army 
War College. Her awards and decorations include the Distinguished 
Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service 
Commendation Medal, Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the 
Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, Superior Civilian Performance Medal, 
and the Global War on Terrorism Medal. She has been the recipient of the 
Organization of Chinese Americans Pioneer Award, the Hawaii Women 
Lawyers Attorney of the Year Award, the Honolulu YWCA Achievement in 
Leadership Award, the Catholic University Alumni Achievement Award, the 
Federal Executive Board Award for Excellence, the U.S. Army Pacific 
Community Service Award and recognized for lifetime accomplishments by 
the Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship. Judge 
Pietsch is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the 
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court of the District of 
Hawaii, State Bar of Hawaii, State Bar of Iowa, and the United States 
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; nominated by President Barack 
Obama and subsequently appointed a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for Veterans Claims on May 24, 2012 and sworn in June 2012.

     WILLIAM S. GREENBERG, judge; Judge Greenberg was a partner of 
McCarter and English, LLP. He initially joined the firm as an associate 
following a judicial clerkship in 1968, then returned as a partner in 
1993. The majority of his career has involved litigation in Federal and 
state courts. Judge Greenberg had been a Certified Civil Trial Attorney 
by the Supreme Court of New Jersey since 1983. He served as Chairman of 
the Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee of the New Jersey 
State Bar Association, which considers all candidates to be a judge or 
prosecutor submitted by the Governor of New Jersey. He was President of 
the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, New Jersey, (The New Jersey 
Association for Justice) and has served as Trustee of the New Jersey 
State Bar Association and of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. He 
also served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the 
Admission of Foreign Attorneys. He established and chaired the New 
Jersey State Bar Association (public service / pro bono) program of 
military legal assistance for members of the Reserve Components called 
to active duty after September 11, 2001. He was a member of the New 
Jersey Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee. With the approval of the 
Secretary of Defense, on the recommendation of the White House, Judge 
Greenberg became Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board in 2009, a 
Board established by the Secretary of Defense in 1951 and by Act of 
Congress in 1952. On July 26, 2011, Judge Greenberg was awarded the 
Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the second 
highest civilian award in the Defense Department, at a public ceremony 
in the Pentagon, and completed his term in August 2011. In 2006 his 
Civil Trial Handbook, Volume 47 of the New Jersey Practice Series, was 
published by Thomson / West. A special 20th anniversary issue was 
published in 2009, to commemorate the 1989 publication of its 
predecessor, Trial Handbook for New Jersey Lawyers. A retired Brigadier 
General, he served as a member of the New Jersey World War II Memorial 
Commission. In June 2009 he received the highest honor granted by the 
New Jersey State Bar Foundation, its medal of honor for his work in 
establishing the military legal assistance program, and especially in 
his public service representation of soldiers at Walter Reed Army 
Medical Center during their Physician Disability Hearings. His article 
in the June 2007 issue of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine describes the 
program in detail. He has served as special litigation counsel to the 
Adjutants General Association of the United States and was special 
litigation counsel pro bono to the National Guard Association of the 
United States. Judge Greenberg was a Commissioner of the New Jersey 
State Commission of Investigation. He also served as Assistant Counsel 
to the Governor of New Jersey and as Commissioner of the New Jersey 
State Scholarship Commission. Professor Greenberg served as the first 
Adjunct Professor of Military Law at the Seton Hall University School of 
Law. He was chosen the New Jersey Lawyer of the Year for 2009 by the New 
Jersey Law Journal. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the 
Johns Hopkins University in 2010, and the Rutgers Law School Public 
Service Award in 2010 for his work in developing and leading the efforts 
to represent wounded and injured soldiers at Walter Reed. Judge 
Greenberg is admitted in New Jersey, New York, and the District of 
Columbia. He is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, and of the Third, Fourth, and Federal

[[Page 908]]

Circuits, the Southern District of New York, and the United States Court 
of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Judge Greenberg is a graduate of the 
Johns Hopkins University (A.B., 1964) and Rutgers University Law School 
(J.D., 1967). He is married to the former Betty Kaufmann Wolf of 
Pittsburgh. They have three children, Katherine of New York, Anthony of 
Baltimore, and Elizabeth of New York; nominated to the United States 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by President Barack Obama on 
November 15, 2012, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 21, 2012, 
appointed by the President on December 27, 2012, and took the judicial 
oath on December 28, 2012, for a term of fifteen years.

     MICHAEL P. ALLEN, judge; Judge Allen was nominated by the President 
of the United States in June 2017. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, 
and appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans 
Claims in August 2017. United States District Judge Elizabeth 
Kovachevich of the Middle District of Florida administered the judicial 
oath to Judge Allen on August 11, 2017. For 16 years before his judicial 
appointment, Judge Allen was a tenured full professor of law at Stetson 
University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. He was also the director 
of Stetson's Veterans Law Institute, and he spent four years as the 
College of Law's associate dean. Judge Allen also served as a visiting 
professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law. Before 
entering teaching, Judge Allen practiced law for nine years in the 
litigation department of the Boston-based international law firm Ropes & 
Gray. Judge Allen graduated summa cum laude from the University of 
Rochester earning bachelor's degrees in American history and political 
science. He received his juris doctor from Columbia Law School, where he 
was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar during his final two years. As a 
professor, Judge Allen taught courses in constitutional law, civil 
procedure, federal courts, remedies, and veterans' benefits law. He has 
been a prolific author, co-writing two books and more than 25 articles 
and essays. Judge Allen also received numerous awards for his 
scholarship and teaching including the Stetson University Award for 
Excellence in Scholarship, the Brown-Dickerson Award for Excellence in 
Scholarship, the Stetson University Award for Excellence in Teaching, 
and the Stetson University Award for Excellence in Professionalism and 
Career Development. He also received the Stetson's Golden Apple Award 
for teaching and was twice named the best all-around professor. Judge 
Allen was also a frequent speaker at community and professional groups 
while in legal education. Among his speaking engagements were featured 
roles at the judicial conferences of the Court of Appeals for Veterans 
Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 
In addition, Judge Allen testified before the Veterans' Affairs 
Committees of both the U.S. Senate and the United States House of 
Representatives. Before taking the bench, Judge Allen was active in 
professional associations. He served on the Board of Trustees of the 
Southeastern Association of Law Schools and was the Chair of the 
American Association of Law Schools' sections on Remedies and New Law 
Teachers. He is also active in his synagogue where, along with his wife, 
he received the Shofar Award for community service. Judge Allen is 
married to Debra Brown Allen and has two sons, Ben and Noah.

     AMANDA L. MEREDITH, judge; Judge Meredith was nominated by the 
President of the United States in June 2017. She subsequently was 
confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed a Judge of the United States 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in August 2017. For more than 12 
years prior to her appointment, Judge Meredith worked for the Republican 
staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Most recently, 
she served from 2015 to 2017 as the Deputy Staff Director and General 
Counsel for Chairman Johnny Isakson. She served as General Counsel from 
2008 to 2015 and as Benefits Counsel from 2005 to 2008 under Ranking 
Member Richard Burr and Chairman / Ranking Member Larry Craig. During 
this time, she was responsible for legislative and oversight activities 
regarding a wide range of veterans' issues and assisted Members of 
Congress in enacting numerous laws to help improve the benefits and 
services for our nation's veterans. Prior to joining the staff of the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Judge Meredith worked for the United 
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for more than seven years. 
While at the Court, she served from 2004 to 2005 as the Director of the 
Court's Task Force for Backlog Reduction, a team of experienced 
attorneys dedicated to reducing the inventory of pending appeals. From 
2000 to 2004, she was the Executive Attorney to Chief Judge Kenneth 
Kramer, serving as the principal legal advisor to the Chief Judge 
regarding all judicial functions; supervising the chambers law clerks; 
and managing the chambers caseload. She served from 1997 to 2000 as a 
judicial law clerk to Judge Kramer. Judge Meredith graduated summa cum 
laude from the University at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science degree 
in accounting and graduated magna cum laude from the University at 
Buffalo Law School, where she was a member of the Buffalo Law Review.

     JOSEPH L. TOTH, judge; Judge Toth was nominated by the President of 
the United States in June 2017. He was subsequently confirmed by the 
U.S. Senate and was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of 
Appeals for Veterans Claims in August 2017. Judge

[[Page 909]]

Toth is a veteran of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps of the 
United States Navy, where he served as Senior Defense Counsel in Pearl 
Harbor, Hawaii, and provided legal assistance to veterans, service 
members, and their families. In 2011, Judge Toth was deployed to the 
Zhari district of Afghanistan where he served as a Field Officer for the 
Rule of Law Field Force Afghanistan (ROLFF-A) and was stationed with the 
Army's 10th Mountain Division. He received the Joint Service 
Commendation Medal for his service in Afghanistan. After leaving active 
duty, Judge Toth served as Associate Federal Defender in Milwaukee, WI, 
with a focus on appellate litigation and motions practice. Judge Toth 
has served on or appeared before several federal and military courts, 
including the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and 
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Judge Toth 
clerked for Judge Daniel A. Manion of the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Seventh Circuit and Judge Robert J. Conrad of the United States 
District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Additionally, 
he worked as an Associate Counsel at Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP in the 
commercial litigation group. Judge Toth received his Bachelor of Arts 
degree from the University of Chicago and his juris doctor from the Ave 
Maria School of Law, where he was the managing editor of the Ave Maria 
Law Review.

      JOSEPH L. FALVEY, Jr., judge; Judge Falvey was nominated by 
President Donald J. Trump, confirmed by the Senate, and appointed a 
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in May 
2018. Before his judicial appointment, Judge Falvey was the District 
Counsel, Detroit District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As District 
Counsel, Judge Falvey supervised the District legal staff and was 
responsible for resolving issues related to statutory and regulatory 
compliance, government contracting and fiscal law, labor and employment 
law, environmental law, claims, real property, standards of conduct / 
ethics, procurement fraud, and litigation. Previously, Judge Falvey 
served as an Assistant United States Attorney, in the United States 
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. As a member of 
the National Security Unit, he was responsible for investigating and 
prosecuting matters involving national security including matters 
involving individuals and organizations that engage in foreign counter-
intelligence, espionage, and those who plan, financially support, or 
carry out international and domestic terrorist activities. Before 
joining the United States Attorney's Office, Judge Falvey was a 
Professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law from 1999 to 2007 and the 
University of Detroit School of Law from 1994 to 1998, where he taught 
evidence, trial advocacy, military law, national security law, and 
criminal law and procedure. Judge Falvey is also a retired Marine Corps 
officer who began his military career as an Armor Officer in 1981 and 
served as a Tank Platoon Commander, Battalion Adjutant, and Anti-Tank 
(TOW) Company Executive Officer. From 1984 to 1987, he attended law 
school through the Marine Corps's Funded Legal Education Program. 
Certified as a Judge Advocate in 1987, Judge Falvey was initially 
assigned to Camp Pendleton, CA, where he served as a prosecutor or 
defense counsel in more than 250 courts-martial. He also served as the 
Senior Judge Advocate for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special 
Operations Capable). In 1990, Judge Falvey attended The Judge Advocate 
General's School of the Army, and he was subsequently assigned as the 
Deputy Head, Military Law Branch, Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters 
Marine Corps. In 1994, Judge Falvey left active duty and continued to 
serve in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. From 1994 to 1998, Judge Falvey 
was a Special Courts-Martial Judge and presided over more than 100 
courts-martial. In 1998, he was assigned as an Assistant Staff Judge 
Advocate for Operational Law at U.S. Central Command, and he was 
mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the aftermath of 
the 9 / 11 terrorist attacks. In this capacity, he worked closely with 
various agencies of the U.S. Government on matters related to the Global 
War on Terrorism and he deployed to Afghanistan in 2002. Judge Falvey 
subsequently served as an Appellate Judge for the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps 
Court of Criminal Appeals. From 2008 to 2010, Judge Falvey served as the 
Commanding Officer, Marine Forces Reserve, Legal Services Support 
Section. Judge Falvey retired in 2011 having attained the rank of 
Colonel. His decorations include the Legion of Merit (with star), 
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy-
Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and 
Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Judge Falvey was selected as both 
the ABA Outstanding Young Military Lawyer (1990) and the Judge Advocate 
Association Outstanding Career Judge Advocate (2011). Judge Falvey holds 
a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Notre Dame, a 
juris doctor, cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School, and a master of 
laws, Distinguished Graduate, from The Judge Advocate General's School. 
Judge Falvey and his wife, Anne, have nine children and they are 
licensed foster parents who have opened their home to more than a dozen 
abused and neglected children.

     SCOTT J. LAURER, judge; Judge Lauer was nominated by President 
Donald J. Trump, confirmed by the Senate, and in August 2020 he received 
his judicial commission, becoming a Judge of the United States Court of 
Appeals for Veterans Claims. Before his judicial

[[Page 910]]

appointment, Judge Laurer served as Deputy Legal Counsel to the National 
Security Council at the White House. There he advised the President, 
Vice President, Assistant to the President for National Security 
Affairs, and the staffs of the National Security Council and Homeland 
Security Council. Judge Laurer served in the United States Navy for 30 
years, retiring from active duty as a Captain in the Judge Advocate 
General's Corps. He supported combat operations as senior legal advisor 
for the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group during its historic 10-
month deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Southern 
Watch, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a senior officer, Judge Laurer 
held various distinguished positions including the following: Special 
Counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations; Commanding Officer, U.S. 
Region Legal Service Office Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia; Special 
Legal Advisor to Commander, International Security Assistance Force and 
U.S. Forces-Afghanistan; Senior Legal Advisor to Commander, North 
American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command; and Deputy 
Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A Woodbury, 
NJ, native, Judge Laurer graduated from Rutgers University. He earned 
his juris doctor from Temple University School of Law and his master of 
laws (international law) from The George Washington University Law 
School.

      GRANT C. JAQUITH, judge; Judge Jaquith was nominated to the United 
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by President Donald J. Trump 
on September 19, 2019, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 23, 2020, 
appointed by President Donald Trump on September 1, 2020, and took the 
judicial oath the next day. Until his judicial appointment, Judge 
Jaquith had served as the United States Attorney for the Northern 
District of New York since July 1, 2017, leading the work of 50 lawyers 
in four offices who prosecuted federal criminal cases and represented 
the United States in civil litigation, from investigation through trial 
or other resolution and appeal. While United States Attorney, Judge 
Jaquith served as Vice Chair and then Chair of the Servicemembers' and 
Veterans' Rights Subcommittee of the Attorney General's Advisory 
Committee. Judge Jaquith became an Assistant U.S. Attorney on August 6, 
1989; he served as the NDNY's Narcotics Chief and Chief of the Albany 
Office from 1998 to 2006, Chief of the Criminal Division from 2006 to 
2010, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2010 to 2017. In 2016, 
Judge Jaquith was honored by the Department of Justice with a national 
Director's Award for Executive Achievement. Judge Jaquith was 
commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1979 and served in the Army Judge 
Advocate General's Corps from 1982 to 2011, rising to the rank of 
Colonel in 2004. His military awards include the Legion of Merit. Judge 
Jaquith was an Army circuit judge from 2001 to 2010, presiding over 
courts-martial at forts throughout the continental United States and in 
Alaska, Germany, and Korea. In 2006, he was activated to serve as the 
trial judge at Fort Bragg, NC. Judge Jaquith's other military 
assignments, including active duty from 1982 to 1988, involved advising 
commanders and staff on legal aspects of disciplinary actions and 
command administration and operations; providing legal assistance to 
soldiers, veterans, and their families; settling civil claims; providing 
instruction on legal issues; litigating at administrative boards; and 
prosecuting criminal cases. Judge Jaquith was in private practice with 
Bond Schoeneck & King in Syracuse from 1988 to 1989 and taught Juvenile 
Law and Federal Income Taxation at Drury College, Fort Leonard Wood, MO, 
in 1984. In 1982, he interned at the Public Defender's Office in 
Gainesville, FL, where he represented defendants in misdemeanor trials. 
Judge Jaquith received his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida 
College of Law in 1982 and a Bachelor of Science,  cum laude, in 
business administration and accounting from Presbyterian College, 
Clinton, SC, in 1979, from which he was a Distinguished Military 
Graduate. He is married to Rosemarie Perez Jaquith, who is also a 
lawyer, and has six children (Amanda, Larene, Gordon, Olivia, Isabelle, 
and Colton) and six grandchildren.

                   Officers of the U.S. Court of Appeals
                           for Veterans Claims

     Clerk of the Court.--Gregory O. Block, 501-5970.
     Chief Deputy Clerk Operations Manager.--Anne P. Stygles.
     Counsel to the Clerk.--Cary P. Sklar.
     Senior Staff Attorney, Central Legal Staff.--Cynthia Brandon-
        Arnold.
     Deputy Executive Officer.--Patrick H. Barnwell.
     Librarian.--Allison Fentress.