Jerri Dunston is a graduate of Duke University and the New York University School of Law. After spending two years in private practice as a general litigation associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, Ms. Dunston came to the Department of Justice. From 1991 until 1997, Ms. Dunston was a staff attorney in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Civil Rights Division at Main Justice. Ms. Dunston then served as an Assistant United States Attorney, from 1997 to 1999 in the District of Columbia and from 1999 until 2002 in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

In October, 2002, Ms. Dunston became an Attorney Advisor with the Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO). At PRAO, Ms. Dunston provided advice and training to the Department’s attorneys (including prosecutors, civil attorneys, and DOJ agency attorneys) about compliance with their professional responsibilities. Ms. Dunston became the Acting Deputy Director of PRAO in October 2005, and was named Director of PRAO in July 2007.

Established as an independent component within the Department of Justice on April 14, 1999, PRAO provides legal advice to Department of Justice attorneys about how to comply with the applicable rules of professional conduct in the performance of their duties. PRAO also provides training for Department attorneys and client agencies on professional responsibility issues, and serves as liaison with the state and federal bar associations in matters related to the implementation and interpretation of 28 U.S.C. § 530B and any revisions to the various state rules of professional conduct.