Sally Q.
Yates

A 27-year veteran of DOJ, Sally rose through the ranks of Assistant United States Attorneys to become U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, Deputy Attorney General and Acting Attorney General. As Deputy Attorney General from 2015 through 2017, Sally was responsible for crafting and implementing initiatives focused on many of DOJ’s priorities, including corporate fraud, cybercrime, gang violence, civil rights, and financial crime. She led DOJ’s criminal justice reform efforts and implemented substantial prison reform measures.

Prior to becoming Deputy Attorney General, Sally was the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. During her five years as the chief federal law enforcement official for the district, she oversaw the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of civil matters and immediately became a leader in the Department as Vice Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), which guides DOJ’s strategies and policy decisions.

She has tried numerous white collar and public corruption cases, and she was the lead prosecutor of Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph. 

Before entering government service, Sally practiced as a civil litigation associate at King & Spalding. She has served as a Visiting Distinguished Lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center and currently co-chairs the Board of Trustees of the non-partisan Council on Criminal Justice which is dedicated to making our communities safer and our criminal justice system more fair. Sally is a frequent speaker on a variety of public policy issues.