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Elected Member

Erin
Nealy Cox

Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Affiliation
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Education
The Univesity of Texas at Austin
Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

Erin Nealy Cox was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas on November 17, 2017. As U.S. Attorney, she is the chief federal law enforcement officer responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in the Northern District of Texas, which covers 100 counties, over 96,000 square miles, and a population of approximately eight million.  Ms. Cox oversees a staff of approximately 100 attorneys and a similar number of non-attorney support personnel assigned among five division offices.  In March of 2018, Ms. Nealy Cox was appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC).  The AGAC was created in 1973 and reports to the Attorney General through the Deputy Attorney General.  The AGAC represents the U.S. Attorneys across the country and provides advice and counsel to the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management impacting the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys.

Prior to her appointment as U.S. Attorney, Ms. Cox worked as a Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Co. in the cybersecurity and risk practice. She also served on the Board of Directors of Sally Beauty Holdings, a large retailer on the NYSE. From 1999 to 2008, Ms. Nealy Cox served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Texas, where she prosecuted cyber crimes, white collar crimes, and general crimes. In 2004 and 2005, she served at Main Justice as chief of staff and senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy. From 2008 to 2016, Ms. Nealy Cox was a member of the executive leadership team at Stroz Friedberg, a cybersecurity and investigations consulting firm, ultimately leading the firm’s global incident response business. Ms. Nealy Cox clerked for the Honorable Henry A. Politz, when he served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Honorable Barefoot Sanders, United States District Judge in the Northern District of Texas.

Ms. Nealy Cox received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and her B.B.A. in finance from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the Texas and New York Bar Associations.

Member News

Traynor on Liberty, Law, and Democracy

In his essay "Liberty, Law, and Democracy: Are There Grounds for Realistic Optimism?" Michael Traynor, former President of The American Law Institute, reflects on the challenges facing American democracy amid political polarization and institutional strain. He examines threats to the balance between liberty and law, citing dysfunction across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, while drawing on historical context and recent scholarship to frame these concerns.

Despite his sober assessment, Traynor maintains a guarded optimism rooted in America’s resilience, civic traditions, and individual potential to effect change. He highlights positive actions within the legal community, nonprofit organizations, and among engaged citizens, while outlining five practical steps Americans can take to strengthen democracy: improving civic education, demanding accountability, fostering open debate, participating in elections and local governance, and resisting simplistic solutions.

Traynor concludes that democracy is “stubborn work,” incremental, imperfect, and ongoing, but expresses confidence that Americans have the resolve to preserve it.

Read the full article The New Nationalist

Michael Traynor is senior counsel at Cobalt LLP in Berkeley California. He served as ALI President from 2000 to 2008, and as Chair of the Council from 2008 to 2011. He is also a recipient of ALI's Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Traynor is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.   He received the John P. Frank Outstanding Lawyer Award from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is an honorary life trustee of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and of Earthjustice and a past President (1973) of the Bar Association of San Francisco.