Hon. David Erich Nahmias

Jones Day

      David E. Nahmias — a former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and senior U.S. Justice Department official — is a partner in the Atlanta office of Jones Day, where he uses his broad experience and distinguished judgment to counsel organizations and individuals on government and internal investigations, compliance and regulatory matters, and litigation.

      Dave served as a Justice on Georgia's highest court for nearly 13 years. Appointed in 2009, he won two statewide elections to six-year terms. He authored more than 470 published opinions and joined more than 2,700 others while becoming an influential leader in the judiciary. The U.S. Chief Justice appointed Dave to serve on the U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Civil Rules from 2013 to 2018.

      Dave graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, where he was second in his class, and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served on the Law Review. After law school, Dave was a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and worked for a large law firm in Washington before serving for almost 15 years in the U.S. Justice Department. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, he handled high-profile fraud, public corruption, and terrorism cases and was lead counsel for multiple jury trials. After the 9/11 attacks, Dave worked in the Criminal Division in Washington, including as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Fraud, Counterterrorism, and Appellate Sections.

      In 2004, Dave was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia — the chief federal law enforcement official for metropolitan Atlanta and more than six million residents. For almost five years, Dave supervised significant public corruption and corporate, health care, and other fraud cases as well as terrorism, violent crime, and a variety of civil matters. He also served on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and chaired the AGAC's subcommittees on White Collar Crime and Terrorism and National Security.

      Dave has served on the boards of several legal and community organizations and has won numerous awards for his public service, including the Daily Report's Luminary Award and the Atlanta Bar Association's Bleckley Award for Judicial Excellence.