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About
Geoffrey Steven Berman (born September 12, 1959) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) from 2018 to 2020. Appointed as acting U.S. Attorney by President Trump in January 2018 and confirmed by the Senate in August 2018, he led one of the nation's most powerful U.S. Attorney's offices, handling high-profile cases involving white-collar crime, corruption, and national security. During his tenure, Berman oversaw the 2019 federal indictment of financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, as well as investigations into figures like Michael Cohen and Roger Stone. His leadership emphasized prosecutorial independence amid political pressures, and he was abruptly dismissed in June 2020—an event he later attributed to interference in ongoing probes related to Trump's associates, as detailed in his 2022 memoir 'Holding Lies: Trump, the Southern District, and the Weaponization of Justice.'
Prior to his government service, Berman built a successful career in private practice. After graduating from Harvard College (A.B., 1980) and Columbia Law School (J.D., 1985), where he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review, he clerked for Judge Pierre N. Leval on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He worked as an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and later became a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, specializing in litigation, antitrust, and securities law. Following his departure from the SDNY, he returned to Fried Frank as Global Chair of the Litigation Department.
Raised in New York City in a Jewish family, Berman has maintained a low public profile regarding his personal life, focusing on legal advocacy and public service.