Judith C. Appelbaum, currently a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legislative Affairs, has been tapped to serve as the interim chief of the office following the department of Ronald Weich.
Weich announced in April his plans to leave the Justice Department to become dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law.
From 2006 to 2009, Appelbaum served as the director of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. In 2009, she joined the Office of Legislative Affairs. She previously worked as Vice President and Legal Director at the National Women’s Law Center after serving as Counsel to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
Judy Appelbaum (ACS)
Weich was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2009.
“Ron’s leadership has been instrumental in realizing crucial legislative achievements, and I thank him for his tireless advocacy of department priorities,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a news release. “I am proud of the work done by the Office of Legislative Affairs under Ron’s watch to advance legislation vital to ensuring justice.”
Under Weich’s guidance, the Office of Legislative Affairs represented the department on issues such as the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Tribal Law and Order Act.
Ron Weich (photo by Ryan J. Reilly).
Weich also managed the department’s efforts to obtain Senate confirmation of many senior department officials, including the deputy attorney general, assistant attorneys general, U.S. attorneys, and U.S. marshals.
Before joining the Justice Department Weich served as chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.) and as counsel to late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and former Sen. Arlen Specter. Before that he worked as a partner in the law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City.
Weich earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Appelbaum received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Stanford Law School.
