Barbara L. McQuade

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Barbara L. McQuade

Professor from Practice, University of Michigan Law School, and Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan

Barbara L. McQuade is a professor from practice at Michigan Law. Her interests include criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, data privacy, and civil rights. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as the US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she was the first woman to serve in her position.

McQuade also served as vice chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and co-chaired its Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee. As US attorney, she oversaw cases involving public corruption, terrorism, corporate fraud, theft of trade secrets, civil rights, and health care fraud, among others. She also serves as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. She also is a co-host of the SistersInLaw Podcast.

Before becoming US attorney, McQuade was an assistant US attorney in Detroit for 12 years, serving as deputy chief of the National Security Unit, where she handled cases involving terrorism financing, export violations, threats, and foreign agents. She began her career practicing law at the firm of Butzel Long in Detroit. She previously taught at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

McQuade is the author of Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.