DNCC odyssey

As chief counsel for the Democratic National Convention Committee, Susana Carbajal (pictured) deals daily with a variety of legal issues in preparation for the convention set to begin Aug. 25 in Denver. “Everyday is different,” says Carbajal, 32, a former bankruptcy and specialty litigation associate with Austin’s Brown McCarroll. On the DNCC’s staff since June 2007, Carbajal says she has worked on everything from drafting contracts to dealing with intellectual property rights on the design and production of the convention’s logo. Carbajal says it’s also her job to make sure DNCC staff and volunteers comply with federal election laws and rules. According to Kristina Edmunson, DNCC spokeswoman, the committee received about $16.8 million in federal grants to put on the convention. Joseph E. Sandler, the Democratic National Committee’s general counsel and a member of Sandler, Reiff & Young in Washington, D.C., writes in an e-mail that the DNCC did not consider a lot of other people for the job of chief counsel. Sandler writes, “This is my sixth convention and I knew Susana [Carbajal] had exactly the right combination of qualities we were looking for: solid commercial and corporate legal experience combined with great political and people skills and judgment. And infinite patience and a sense of humor help a lot too in this extremely challenging position.” Carbajal, who was born and raised in El Paso, received a degree in political science from American University in 1998. “That’s where I got the political bug,” she says. Carbajal worked as deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel in 2000 through Jan. 19, 2001, during then-President Bill Clinton’s administration and was involved in fundraising in then-Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 campaign. After President George W. Bush took office, Carbajal entered the University of Texas School of Law and joined Brown McCarroll in 2004 after she received her law degree. Patricia Baron Tomasco, a partner in and head of the bankruptcy and special litigation section at Brown McCarroll in Austin, says Carbajal kept pictures of Bill Clinton, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Gore in her office at the firm. “We hope she comes back,” says Tomasco, who describes Carbajal as “extremely bright.” Carbajal says she doesn’t know what she will do after her job as DNCC chief counsel ends. For now, she says her focus is on making the convention a success and making sure the DNCC fulfills its obligations.

-- Mary Alice Robbins

Comments

[viagra precio]

prix de pretendues panacees souvent fort:), in entlegenen Strassen oder vor den Thoren der:)

[sildenafil]

dass die oben erwahnten Anordnungen bezuglich des, afin quelle vous doint sante:)

[cialis funziona]

ihnen erst ein Ruhebett zu bereiten brauchte), denn diese beruht nur auf der Anwendung

[cialis generico in farmacia]

et par consequent est ronde), fur den Arbeiter ist sie das Mittel zum Erwerben:)