Richard B. Zabel
Deputy U.S. Attorney
Richard B. Zabel is the Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was promoted to that position in October 2011 after serving as Chief of the office’s Criminal Division since 2009.
Mr. Zabel first joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1991, where, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he prosecuted a variety of cases involving securities fraud, obstruction of justice, racketeering, firearms and narcotics charges, and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. From 1996 to 1999, he served as Deputy Chief and then Chief of the Office’s Narcotics Unit. He received numerous awards, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service and the Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. In 1999, he left the U.S. Attorney’s Office to join the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he was a partner until 2009.
Mr. Zabel received his A.B. in Comparative Literature and graduated summa cum laude in 1983 from Princeton University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Fulbright Scholar. He received his J.D. in 1987 from Harvard Law School where he was Best Oralist in the Ames Moot Court Competition. Mr. Zabel has taught as an adjunct professor of criminal law at Columbia Law School and the Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the New York Bar, the Federal Bar Council, and the New York Inn of Court.
Lorin L. Reisner
Chief, Criminal Division
Lorin L. Reisner was appointed Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in January 2012.
Mr. Reisner returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office after serving as the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he was appointed to in 2009. Prior to joining the SEC, he was a litigation partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York from 1996 to 2009. At Debevoise, he worked on complex white collar representations, government investigations, and business litigation. From 1990 until 1994, Mr. Reisner was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District, where he investigated and prosecuted financial crimes, public corruption, and racketeering offenses.
Mr. Reisner graduated from Brandeis University in 1983 and Harvard Law School in 1986. Upon graduation, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Milton Pollack of the Southern District of New York.
Sara L. Shudofsky
Chief, Civil Division
Sara L. Shudofsky was appointed Chief of the Civil Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in June 2012.
Ms. Shudofsky returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office from Spears & Imes, where she had been a partner specializing in complex commercial litigation and civil government investigations since 2009, having joined the firm in 2007. From 1991 to 2007, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District’s Civil Division, receiving two Director’s Awards for Superior Performance, the Henry L. Stimson Medal from the New York City Bar Association, and the Public Service Award from the New York County Lawyers’ Association for her work. During her tenure, Ms. Shudofsky served as the Chief Appellate Attorney, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division, and Chief of the Office’s Civil Rights Unit.
Ms. Shudofsky graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and from New York University School of Law in 1986. Upon graduation, she was a litigation associate at Kaye Scholer.
