Alejandro Mayorkas
Partner
Alejandro Mayorkas is a litigation partner with extensive jury trial experience, having been before a jury in more than 30 cases in both federal and state courts. He handles complex civil and criminal matters, internal corporate investigations, and serves as national coordinating counsel for companies involved in related cases around the country.
Prior to joining O'Melveny, Mr. Mayorkas served as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, the largest federal judicial district in the nation. President Clinton nominated Mr. Mayorkas in 1998. At the time, Mr. Mayorkas was, at the age of 39, the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation and the first in the Central District of California to be appointed from within the Office. Prior to his appointment, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for nine years.
As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Mayorkas created the Civil Rights Section to prosecute hate crimes and other acts of intolerance and discrimination more effectively. He developed an innovative program to address violent crime by targeting criminals' possession of firearms, applying RICO to the prosecution of street gangs, and at the same time providing federal resources to develop after-school programs in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods to help at-risk youth discover and realize their potential. He also expanded the Office's community outreach programs, and broadened the Office's cooperation with other nations in an effort to address the increasing globalization of criminal conduct. Mr. Mayorkas led an office of 240 Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted an unprecedented number of significant and innovative cases in varied areas of law enforcement, including cases of public corruption, high-tech and computer-related crime, organized crime, investment fraud, and international money laundering.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for nine years, Mr. Mayorkas served as a trial lawyer in complex federal criminal and civil matters. From 1996 to 1998, he served as Chief of the Office's General Crimes Section. Throughout his service in the U.S. Department of Justice, Mr. Mayorkas received numerous law enforcement and community awards, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's highest award for his successful prosecution of Buford O. Furrow, Jr., the individual who murdered a postal service worker during a racially-motivated crime spree. He also earned commendations from FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and others for his successful trial work, including his prosecution of Operation Polarcap, then the largest international money laundering case in the nation. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Mayorkas served as Vice-Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Subcommittee on Civil Rights and as a member of the Subcommittee on Ethics in Government.
As a litigation partner at O'Melveny, Mr. Mayorkas represents
Fortune 100 and other companies in their highest profile and most complex and sensitive matters throughout the country and the world. He advises boards of directors and top executives, tries cases, leads internal investigations, and litigates bet-the-company matters in a wide array of industries, including telecommunications, health care, consumer safety, sports and entertainment, aerospace, media, and real estate.
Mr. Mayorkas has been awarded O’Melveny’s Values Award, an annual award given to two partners worldwide who exemplify the firm’s values of leadership, excellence, and citizenship. He serves on O'Melveny's Policy Committee and is the Chair of the Warren Christopher Scholarship Committee, which awards college scholarships to sophomores from the Los Angeles Unified School District who have overcome significant economic and other challenges to achieve academic excellence and superior citizenship. Mr. Mayorkas also is the Chair of the Board of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the disadvantaged with access to justice, and is a member of the Board of Directors of United Friends of the Children, a non-profit organization devoted to the well-being of foster youth in Los Angeles County. He was a member of the California Senate-appointed Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, has taught trial advocacy at Loyola Law School, and carries a significant pro bono caseload at O'Melveny. The
National Law Journal recently named Mr. Mayorkas one of the “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.”
Mr. Mayorkas was born in Havana, Cuba. He lives with his family in Los Angeles, California.