Loretta Lynch

Loretta Lynch
Official portrait, 2015
83rd United States Attorney General
In office April 27, 2015 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Sally Yates
Preceded by	Eric Holder
Succeeded by	Jeff Sessions
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
In office May 8, 2010 – April 27, 2015
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Benton J. Campbell
Succeeded by	Robert Capers
In office June 2, 1999 – May 2, 2001
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	Zachary W. Carter
Succeeded by	Roslynn R. Mauskopf
Personal details
Born	Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (1959-05-21) May 21, 1959 (age 64) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Spouse	Stephen Hargrove ​ (m. 2007)​
Education	Harvard University (BA, JD)
Signature
Loretta Lynch's voice Loretta Lynch speaks on criminal justice reform Recorded November 30, 2016

Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is an American lawyer who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York under Presidents Bill Clinton (1999–2001), George W. Bush (2001) and Obama (2010–2015). As a U.S. attorney, Lynch oversaw federal prosecutions in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island.

Lynch is a Harvard Law School graduate. She then practiced law in New York and became a federal prosecutor in 1990, rising to become head of the Eastern District office. She later returned to private law practice until she became the top district prosecutor again. From 2003 to 2005, she served on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York board.

In November 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to succeed Eric Holder as Attorney General.^[1] In February 2015, the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate recommended her confirmation by a 12–8 vote, with all Democrats of the committee and three Republicans in favor. In April 2015, Lynch was confirmed by the Senate by a 56–43 vote, making her the second African American, the second woman and the first African-American woman to be confirmed for the position. She was sworn in as Attorney General in April 2015. Her tenure ended in January 2017. In May 2019, law firm Paul, Weiss announced that Lynch would be joining the firm as a partner in the litigation department.^[2]