United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York


The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Founded by President George Washington through the Judiciary Act of 1789, the office represents the United States government in criminal and civil cases across the country. The SDNY handles a broad array of cases, including but not limited to those involving white collar crime, domestic terrorism, cyber crime, public corruption, organized crime, and civil rights disputes.
The Southern District is known for being highly independent and nonpartisan, earning itself the moniker the "Sovereign District of New York." Its resources, culture, and accompanying FBI field office has had the SDNY consolidate a reputation for being exceptionally aggressive in their pursuit of criminals. Due to its jurisdiction over metropolitan New York City, the financial capital of the world, the office’s incumbent is passively known to be the “Sheriff of Wall Street”.
Geoffrey Berman served as U.S. Attorney for the SDNY from 2018 to 2020, taking over from Preet Bharara. According to news articles, Berman has continued the independent and nonpartisan tradition of the SDNY. In June 2020, Berman was fired by President Donald Trump and replaced with his deputy Audrey Strauss.

Organization

The Office is organized into divisions handling civil and criminal matters. The Southern District of New York also has two offices: one in Manhattan, and one in White Plains. The Office employs approximately 220 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

List of U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York

In 1814, the District of New York was divided into the Northern and the Southern District. The next year, the first U.S. Attorneys for the new districts were appointed:

Notable assistants

In the TV series Billions, Paul Giamatti plays a character based on Preet Bharara. Bharara was a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who prosecuted SAC Capital and other hedge funds.
The TV series For the People covers new defense and prosecution lawyers working in the Southern District of New York.
The TV series Fear city covers the work of the Southern District of New York against the Italian mob