In Pursuit of Justice

US Attorney Preet Bharara speaks to students

The weight of the United States Attorney’s Office doesn’t sit lightly on the shoulders of Preet Bharara. As U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York — often hailed as the “Sovereign District of New York” for its reputation for independence — Bharara strives to uphold the legacy of the institution.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara

“Our office was actually started in 1789; we are older than the Bill of Rights, we are older than the Department of Justice itself,” Bharara said at a fall Conversations with the Dean event, hosted at the law school by Dean Robert K. Rasmussen. “We are proud of that rich tradition.”

Responsible for enforcing federal laws, litigating both criminal and civil cases in a district that includes Wall Street, Bharara and his staff handle terrorism, public corruption, gang violence, organized crime, cybercrime, bankruptcy cases and more.

The pursuit of justice — in whatever form it may take — is the absolute aim of everything Bharara does as U.S. Attorney, he said, starting with hiring assistant U.S. Attorneys.

“I have the great luxury as an employer to hire some of the best people that you can find,” Bharara said. He looks at academic credentials, but more importantly, looks at professional success and ethics. “[Hires] will be prosecuting people criminally … the result of their actions is substantial. That prosecutor could ruin a lot of people’s lives, so we take great care to ensure we’re hiring people who are good, who care about public service, who treat people well, who are fair even when no one is looking — and that’s most of the time.

“People who have that kind of responsibility and that kind of power need to exercise it with great care and discretion.”
And when it comes to actually doing the job, Bharara emphasized that public opinion and politics are left at the door.
“My advice on how to deal with high-profile cases is the same as how to deal with [any professional task]: Do your job,” Bharara said. “You sit down and do your job, and everything will work out. If you start to pay attention to what political groups say you should do or public opinion says you should do in one case, you’re going to do that in other cases. And you’re not going to end up having a Department of Justice, you’re going to have a department of, where’s the wind blowing?”

In his seven years in office, Bharara has maintained the Southern District’s reputation and attracted widespread attention for his office’s prosecutions of insider trading and other financial fraud, and for its focus on public corruption. Among the public officials convicted by his office are Sens. Cark Kruger and Hiram Monseratte, Councilman Larry Seabrook and state assembly members.

A native of India who grew up in New Jersey, Bharara graduated from Harvard University and Columbia Law School. He worked in private practice at a small firm for six years before becoming an assistant U.S. Attorney, where he learned “three times” more in the first six weeks than in the previous six years. The hours in the public sector are comparable, if not worse, he noted, but the job is worth it: “Even the most mundane thing you do as an AUSA is going to be more thrilling, more exciting than the least mundane thing they will offer you to do as a junior associate at a firm.”

Bharara with Dean Robert K. Rasmussen

After fielding questions from Dean Rasmussen, Bharara answered several student questions and offered advice on pursuing a Justice Department career. Get experience — in court, if possible. Aspiring federal prosecutors need to have judgment and know how to counsel clients. He encouraged participating in clinics, externships with judges and internships in the public sector to get “real experience.”

“They look good on a resume because they tell a future employer you know how to deal with other human beings, and can deal with conflict and confrontation, intense litigation, and counseling work,” Bharara said. “It tells them you have experience and gives you something to talk about in a job interview.”

Whether or not they want to work in the public sector, Bharara urged law students to spend at least some time in public service or public interest, either in a prosecutor’s or public defender’s office, or taking pro bono cases while working at a firm.

“You’ll never regret spending some amount of your time working in public service, and you get skills and practice,” Bharara said. “There’s not greater opportunity to make your community better, your country better, your town better, your state better than by application of your law degree. There are people who spend their entire lives looking for the opportunity to make the world a little bit better, and … just by virtue of the law degree you will get from this school, you will have that opportunity every day.

“Even if you can’t spend your life in public service, figure out a way to spend a year, two years, five years — you will really do yourself a favor and your community a favor.”