McGuireWoods’ Betsy Hutson to Join U.S. Department of Justice

September 19, 2019

After leading a team that won the largest civil single-plaintiff human trafficking award in American history, McGuireWoods Washington, D.C., litigator Betsy Hutson will join the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney with the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit in the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section. Her last day with McGuireWoods is Sept. 25.

“Betsy will be missed, but she continues McGuireWoods’ long tradition and commitment to public service,” said Charlottesville partner Jonathan Blank, who chairs the firm’s Business & Securities Litigation Department. “We are incredibly proud that Betsy will follow her passion where she will have a tremendous impact.”

Hutson, who joined McGuireWoods in September 2014, has maintained a robust commercial litigation practice, while continuing her anti-human trafficking work. She has fought human trafficking for a decade, as an advocate and as a lawyer, through a fellowship with the Polaris Project, an internship with the DOJ’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, a position with International Justice Mission, and a State Department trip to Peru with the Human Trafficking Institute to interview and document stories of trafficking survivors.

Most recently, she pursued the cause through her pro bono legal work at McGuireWoods. In May 2018, Hutson served as lead counsel on a team that won an unprecedented $8 million civil judgment in an anti-trafficking suit against a nationwide regimented cult headquartered in Kansas. Since then, she and her team have worked diligently to collect the $8 million for her client, including securing a preliminary injunction in March 2019 ordering the cult to refrain from transferring or disposing of assets.

“I’m grateful for the hands-on litigation opportunities I’ve been afforded at McGuireWoods,” Hutson said. “I’ve also been fortunate to have some excellent mentors and friends during my time at the firm, with Jonathan Blank being first and foremost among them.”