Timothy J. Heaphy (born 1964) is a white-collar criminal defense attorney, law professor and a former

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Virginia. He served as the lead investigator for the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.

Education and early career

Heaphy was raised in a Maryland suburb of

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He attended college at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

where he played football. He is married to Lori Shinseki, the daughter of

Eric Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (; , born 28 November 1942) is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States secretary of veterans affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as the 34th chief of staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003. Shinseki ...

. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1986, Heaphy taught at a private school for a year and then joined the staff of Senator

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

(D- Del.) He returned to

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

in 1988 to attend

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

, graduating in 1991. Heaphy was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge John A. Terry of the

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The court was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals, and it has been the court of last resort ...

before joining the law firm of

Morrison & Foerster Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. History In 1883, Alexander Francis Morrison ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Federal career

Following a two-year stint at Morrison & Foerster, Heaphy joined the

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia The United States attorney for the District of Columbia (USADC) is responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has t ...

. In 2003, Heaphy joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia based in

. After three years, Heaphy returned to private practice, serving as a partner with the law firm of

McGuireWoods McGuireWoods LLP is a US-based international law firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Initially founded in 1834, the firm has grown into the largest law firm in the state of Virginia, and has 21 offices across the country. Along with its Ric ...

. In 2009, Heaphy was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to became the United States attorney for the Western District of Virginia, assuming that post on December 11, 2009.

Return to private practice

He left the U.S. Attorney's office in December 2014 to join

Hunton & Williams Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, formerly known as Hunton & Williams LLP and commonly known as Hunton, is an American law firm. The firm adopted its current name on April 2, 2018, when it merged with Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP. Andrews Kurth Kenyon p ...

. In 2016, Heaphy founded a nonprofit organization that provides low-interest loans to formerly incarcerated persons, The Fountain Fund. In 2017, Heaphy authored a report, commissioned by the city of Charlottesville, on its handling of the August 2017

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a White supremacy#United States, white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, whi ...

. Heaphy served as an assistant Virginia attorney general and as counsel for the

before taking a leave of absence from both positions in August 2021 after being appointed as chief investigative counsel for the

United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (commonly referred to as the January 6th Committee) was a Select or special committee (United States Congress), select committee of the ...

. He was fired as university counsel while on leave from that position by Virginia's new Republican Attorney General

Jason Miyares Jason Stuart Miyares (born February 11, 1976) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 48th Attorney General of Virginia since 2022. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in ...

in January 2022.

Awards

In 2003, ''

The National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly news ...

'' named Heaphy one of its 40 Important Lawyers Under 40.40 Under 40: A Look at Some of the Most Important Young Litigators in America. The National Law Journal July 29, 2002.

Notes

References

* Movers. The National Law Journal February 6, 2006 * Jen McCaffrey, Federal Jury Spares Convicted Killer’s Life in Double-Murder Case, ''The Roanoke Times'', February 18, 2005. * Jim Keary. "'Slasher' is sentenced; Robber terrorized residents on Hill", ''The Washington Times'', December 17, 1997.

External links

Timothy J. Heaphy, United States Attorney
Office of the United States Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaphy, Tim 1964 births Living people American criminal defense lawyers Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut People associated with Hunton Andrews Kurth People associated with Morrison & Foerster United States attorneys for the Western District of Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni