U.S. Senate confirms D. Anthony “Tony” West to be Associate AG of the U.S.

On Thursday, July 25, 2013 the United States Senate voted to confirm Derek Anthony “Tony” West to be the Associate Attorney General of the United States. The vote was 98 for confirmation and 1 opposed. West had been acting Associate Attorney General since March 9, 2012.

As outlined on the Department of Justice’s website the Office of the Associate Attorney General has wide-ranging responsibilities primarily the office , “dvises and assists the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in formulating and implementing Departmental policies and programs pertaining to a broad range of civil justice, federal and local law enforcement, and public safety matters.”

Prior to being appointed the Acting Associate Attorney General, West was the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. Earlier in his career he was a partner at Morrison and Foerster, a special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the California Attorney General, an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, and a Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice.

West’s family is full of attorneys. His wife Maya is an attorney and a vice president at the Ford Foundation. Their daughter Meena graduated from Harvard Law School. West’s sister-in-law Kamala D. Harris is the Attorney General of the State of California.

West graduated from Harvard University in 1987, and Stanford Law School in 1992. He was admitted to practice in California in 1993.

Upon his confirmation his boss Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder issued a statement saying, “Tony has served with distinction since he returned to the Justice Department in 2009. As a key member of the department’s senior management team, he has led with integrity, acting always in the best interests of the American people and in accordance with the finest traditions of public service. I applaud his confirmation by the U.S. Senate today, and look forward to continuing to work with him as Associate Attorney General – a role in which he has excelled, in an acting capacity, for more than a year.”

Nomination Materials