Tony West (attorney)

Tony West
United States Associate Attorney General
In office March 9, 2012 – September 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas Perrelli
Personal details
Born	Derek Anthony West (1965-08-12) August 12, 1965 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Harvard University Stanford Law School

Derek Anthony "Tony" West (born August 12, 1965) is an American lawyer who currently serves as executive vice president of Government Affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary for PepsiCo, Inc. Tony previously served as the Associate Attorney General of the United States, the third highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice.

Early life and education

Tony West was born in San Francisco, California, to parents Franklin and Peggy West.^[1][2] His father, the first person in his family to attend college, was born and raised in Georgia and worked for IBM; while his mother, who was a teacher, was born and raised in Alabama.^[1][3] West was raised in San Jose, California, where he lived with his two younger sisters; Pamela and Patricia.^[4] He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Catholic, all-male, private secondary school, where he served as freshman class president, before graduating in 1983.^[5]

West received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 1987, where he served as the Publisher of the Harvard Political Review.^[6] In 1988, West began volunteering and working on political campaigns, engaging in Democratic political causes, such as working as the chief of staff to the Boston, Massachusetts treasurer of Michael Dukakis's presidential campaign.^[7] West also served as a finance director to the Democratic Governors Association, until 1989.^[7] He received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1992, where he served as the President of the Stanford Law Review.^[8] While attending Stanford, he worked as a summer intern for Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman in 1990.^[7] He also worked as a summer intern for Tuttle & Taylor, and Morrison & Foerster in 1991.^[1]

Career

After graduating, West continued his work in Democratic politics, working as chief of staff to the finance chair of the California Democratic Party, while also working in private practice as an associate at the Bingham McCutchen San Jose office, from 1992 to 1993.^[1] In 1993, he joined the State Bar of California, and was admitted to the Superior Court of California and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.^[7]

West then joined the Clinton administration in 1993, as a Special Assistant under Philip Heymann, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice,^[9] until 1994, when he was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Northern District of California.^[10] As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, West prosecuted child sexual exploitation, fraud, narcotics distribution, interstate theft, and high tech crime.^[11] From 1999 to 2001, he was a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the California Attorney General, under Bill Lockyer.^[10][12] From 2001 to 2009, he was a litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco.^[13] He also served as the California co-chairman of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.^[14]

On July 25, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed West to be Associate Attorney General in a 98-1 vote.^[15] He previously had been serving as Acting Associate Attorney General. Prior to this position, he was the Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice Civil Division.^[8]

Political campaigns

In 1998, West ran for a seat on the San Jose City Council.^[16] In the primary, West's main challenger was Cindy Chavez, the staff director of Working Partnerships USA. He came in second to Chavez in the June 2nd primary, with 41.2% of the vote.^[17] With help from many labor groups and organizations backing Chavez's campaign,^[18] West was ultimately defeated, receiving 48% of the vote in the general election.^[19]

West also ran for the California State Assembly, for the 23rd district, in 2000.^[5] After incumbent Mike Honda ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving a vacancy, West was one of six Democrats to run for the open seat. He was defeated in the primary, by San Jose City Councilman Manny Diaz; receiving 38% of the total votes cast.^[20]

Personal life

West is married to Maya Harris, the current Vice President of the Ford Foundation in New York City. His sister-in-law is current Attorney General of California Kamala Harris.^[14]

References

External links

• http://www.justice.gov/asg/meet-aag.html Biography Page on Department of Justice Website