Loretta Lynch, who served as the 83rd Attorney General of the United States, is a partner in the Litigation Department and chair of the firm’s Civil Rights and Racial Equity Audits practice. Loretta advises clients on complex government and internal investigations and high-stakes litigation matters, including those that implicate significant regulatory enforcement issues, that involve substantial reputational concerns, and that are international in scope.
Since her return to private practice in 2019, Loretta has helped lead several of the most sensitive investigations and reputation-threatening litigation and regulatory enforcement matters in recent years. Northwestern University retained Loretta to lead the independent review of the processes and accountability mechanisms in place at Northwestern University to detect, report and respond to potential misconduct in its athletic programs, including hazing, bullying and discrimination. BlackRock retained Loretta to help lead an internal investigation into former staffers’ allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. She has also recently led North Carolina State University in an NCAA investigation concerning money and other benefits allegedly offered to a former student-athlete in violation of NCAA regulations; and a Fortune 50 energy company in an internal investigation regarding discrimination and retaliation claims. Loretta is currently representing the McDonald’s Corporation in three high-profile racial discrimination lawsuits. She also represented the National Football League in a putative class action alleging racial discrimination in the hiring and retention of senior coaches – arguably the highest-profile lawsuit currently in American sports. She also counsels a number of prominent companies on ESG-related matters.
Loretta is also frequently retained for high-profile public advisory roles. She was appointed as a Special Advisor to the N.Y. Attorney General’s Office as part of its investigation into issues arising out of the conduct of New York City police officers during protests related to the death of George Floyd; and by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to mediate a dispute between the Federal Defenders of New York and the Federal Bureau of Prisons concerning issues of attorney access to their incarcerated clients during the COVID-19-related suspension of in-person visits at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Loretta served as U.S. Attorney General from 2015 to 2017, becoming the first African-American woman to hold this office. In that role, she oversaw more than 100,000 employees across numerous agencies and offices, including the 93 U.S. Attorneys; major investigative agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bureau of Prisons; the National Security Division; and the Office of the Solicitor General, among others.
Loretta has been recognized as a “Distinguished Leader” by the New York Law Journal and has been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation.” She has been recognized by Chambers in the Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (New York) category and in the Crisis Management guide.
Loretta received her J.D. and her B.A. in American Literature from Harvard University.
Updated July 2024
