Attorney General Miyares Selects the Quinn Emanuel Firm as Special Counsel to Review the Tragic Shooting at the University of Virginia

~ Attorneys William Burck and Crystal Nix-Hines have been selected to serve as the primary special counsel for the external review of the events surrounding the November 13th tragedy ~

RICHMOND, VA – Attorney General Jason Miyares today announced that national law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP has been selected to conduct the external review of the events that led to the tragic death of three University of Virginia students and the injuries to two others. 

William Burck and Crystal Nix-Hines, co-chairs of the firm's Crisis Law and Strategy Group, will be leading the review. They both have extensive experience with internal investigations and crisis management. 

Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Zachary Terwilliger, will be appointed a special counsel as to related federal, state, and local law enforcement issues surrounding this tragic incident. Mr. Terwilliger has extensive knowledge regarding federal, state, and local criminal policies and procedures, and specific expertise regarding firearms laws and regulations. He is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Vinson and Elkins, LLP in their Government Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense practice.  

The work of the Special Counsels will be supervised by the Office of the Attorney General. 

"I have full confidence that Mr. Burck, Ms. Nix-Hines, and Mr. Terwilliger will conduct the thorough and professional external review requested by the University of Virginia,” said Attorney General Miyares. "Understandably, there are many questions about the events that led to the tragedy at University of Virginia. At the appropriate time, a report will be released to the public to help answer those questions.” 

Mr. Burck is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. He also clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Anthony Kennedy. He is a former federal prosecutor and consistently rated as one of the most sought after internal investigators in the United States. 

Ms. Nix-Hines is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where she was a Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review. She also clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Thurgood Marshall and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Ms. Nix-Hines is a former Ambassador to UNESCO and has served multiple terms on the Board of Trustees for Princeton University.

Mr. Terwilliger is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the William & Mary School of Law, where he graduated with highest honors. Among other roles, he served in the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Associate Deputy Attorney General with responsibility for oversight of national criminal issues, and as the Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

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