Obama nominates US attorneys for N.H., Vermont

President Obama this afternoon announced his nominees for a batch of US attorneys, including those for New Hampshire and Vermont.

For New Hampshire, the nominee is John Paul Kacavas, 48, a former prosecutor in the state attorney general's office.

For Vermont, the nominee is Tristram Coffin, 46, a former assistant US attorney.

“This group of men and women have distinguished themselves as fair, tenacious and respected attorneys throughout their careers in both public and private service,” Obama said in a statement. “They will serve their country with distinction as US Attorneys and it is my honor to nominate them for these esteemed positions.”

The mini-biographies for Kacavas and Coffin are below:

John Paul Kacavas: Nominee for U.S. Attorney, District of New Hampshire

John Paul Kacavas, 48, is a partner at Kacavas Ramsdell & Howard, P.L.C.C., in Manchester, New Hampshire, a firm he co-founded in 2002. Prior to that, he spent five years working in private practice at Wiggin & Nourie – from 2000 to 2002 and from 1990 to 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Kacavas served as a prosecutor in the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, eventually becoming chief of the Homicide Unit. In 1999, he served as a trial attorney on the United States Department of Justice Campaign Finance Task Force. Mr. Kacavas served one term as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Mr. Kacavas graduated from St. Michael’s College (1983), received his Masters in International Relations from American University (1987), and his J.D. from Boston College Law School (1990).

Tristram Coffin: Nominee for U.S. Attorney, District of Vermont

Tristram Coffin, 46, has been of counsel at Paul Frank & Collins, a law firm in Burlington, Vermont, since 2006. From 1994 to 2006, Mr. Coffin was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Vermont, serving in the Civil Division for four years and the Criminal Division for eight years. From 1991 to 1994, he was a counsel to Senator Leahy (D-VT) on the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Technology and the Law. Prior to that, Mr. Coffin spent two years as a litigation associate at Hale and Dorr in Boston. Following graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Albert Coffrin in the District of Vermont. Mr. Coffin graduated from Wesleyan University (1985) and Columbia University Law School (1989).