HWG LLP Welcomes Former Deputy Assistant to the President Roy L. Austin, Jr.

Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP announced today that Roy L. Austin, Jr., until recently Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity in the Domestic Policy Council, and formerly Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, has joined the firm as a partner. At the White House, Mr. Austin helped lead efforts focused on criminal justice and civil rights. Within the Civil Rights Division, Mr. Austin supervised the criminal justice and law enforcement portfolios.

“Roy is an extraordinary litigator whose public service has benefited our whole country,” said Scott Blake Harris, Chairman of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. “His litigation and White House experience, particularly in the application of civil rights law to the data centric digital age, will also be of enormous benefit to our clients.”

During his tenure at the White House, Mr. Austin co-authored a report on Big Data and Civil Rights, worked with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, helped develop the Police Data Initiative, worked on the expansion of reentry assistance, and was a member of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force. Mr. Austin’s team also played a significant leadership role in policymaking on labor, housing, and human services issues. At the Department of Justice, Mr. Austin oversaw the work on consent decrees with law enforcement agencies and the criminal prosecution of law enforcement misconduct, hate crimes, and human trafficking cases. Previously, Mr. Austin spent years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division. He has tried thirty jury trials in his career. Earlier in his career, Mr. Austin was a partner at McDermott Will & Emery and an associate at Keker & Van Nest LLP.

“I am excited to join Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis and the top-notch attorneys who practice here. I look forward to helping in its existing practice areas and growing others,” said Mr. Austin.

Mr. Austin received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Vice Chair of the Hinton Moot Court Board and President of the Black Law Students’ Association. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.