Joseph H. (“Jody”) Hunt ’82 is General Counsel and Vice President for Government Affairs.  Prior to joining Samford, Jody spent more than two decades at the United States Department of Justice in Washington D.C., where he supervised the government’s highest-profile litigation involving constitutional issues, national security matters, state secrets cases, and numerous other challenges to federal statutes and programs in courts around the country. During his time as a career public servant, Jody was a three-time recipient of the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor at the United States Department of Justice. In 2017, he served as Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States, and was later confirmed by the United States Senate as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division. As head of the division, which operates as the government’s law firm, he oversaw the work of more than 1,000 attorneys who defended and prosecuted matters nationwide on behalf of the United States. Jody earned a bachelor’s degree from the Howard College of Arts and Sciences at Samford, where he was covaledictorian of his class and President of the Student Government. He went on to earn a master’s degree from The Florida State University and his juris doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia University. He also spent time working in private practice, and was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge James H. Hancock of the Northern District of Alabama.