Sally Yates

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is a partner in King & Spalding’s Special Matters & Government Investigations practice and leads the firm's Crisis Management practice. Yates’s deep experience, leadership and wide-ranging background provide clients with seasoned judgment in difficult times. Her practice focuses on counseling clients in complex and sensitive matters, including government enforcement and regulatory matters, congressional investigations, compliance, corporate governance and crisis management. Drawing upon her nearly three decades at the Department of Justice, she specializes in internal and independent investigations for public and private organizations and boards.

As the second-highest ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and as Acting Attorney General, Yates was responsible for all of DOJ’s 113,000 employees including all prosecutorial, litigating, and national security components.

A 27-year veteran of DOJ, Yates 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, Yates 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, Yates 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.

An accomplished trial lawyer and Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, Yates has tried numerous high-profile cases. 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, Yates practiced as a civil litigation associate at King & Spalding. She has served as a Visiting Distinguished Lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center, currently co-chairs the Board of Trustees of the non-partisan Council on Criminal Justice, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ethics Research Center. Yates is a frequent speaker on a variety of public policy issues.