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Loretta Lynch transitioned from a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor to become the first African-American woman to serve as the United States Attorney General, overseeing significant legal actions and policy discussions.
Loretta E. Lynch, the former United States Attorney General, is a partner in the Paul, Weiss Litigation Department. Ms. Lynch advises clients on government and internal investigations and high-stakes litigation.
After nearly 11 years as a prosecutor, Lynch left the Justice Department in 2001 and joined Hogan & Hartson as a partner in New York.
From 2003 to 2005, she was a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In December 2020, Lynch was hired by the National Football League to help investigate allegations of misconduct among the owners of the Washington Football Team.
In October 2024, Lynch represented Chinese drone manufacturer DJI in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense in an attempt to have the company removed from a list of designated "Chinese military companies".
Loretta Elizabeth Lynch was born on May 21, 1959, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her early interest in law was sparked by attending court proceedings with her father, a Baptist minister. Both her parents were graduates of Shaw University, where the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded. Lynch pursued her education at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and American literature in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1984. She began her legal career as a litigation associate for Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York City.
Lynch started her journey as a federal prosecutor in 1990, joining the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York. Over the next decade, she rose through the ranks, serving as chief of the Long Island office from 1994 to 1998, where she handled political corruption cases, and then as chief assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District in 1998. In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated her as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. During this first tenure, she oversaw the prosecution of New York City police officers in the Abner Louima case. After a period in private practice as a partner at Hogan & Hartson, she was re-nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010 to serve again as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Her second term as U.S. Attorney involved prosecuting both Republican and Democratic politicians, investigating major banking institutions like Citigroup and HSBC Holdings PLC, and notably overseeing the early stages of the 2015 FIFA corruption investigations. These efforts earned her recognition, including the 3rd annual Golden Blazer award. In November 2014, President Obama nominated her as the 83rd Attorney General of the United States. Following a lengthy confirmation process, she was sworn in on April 27, 2015, becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position. As Attorney General, she addressed high-profile cases such as the Charleston church shooting and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and took an active role in criminal justice reform, particularly concerning re-entry into society for felons. Her tenure concluded in January 2017, and in May 2019, she joined the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as a partner in their litigation department.
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