A former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and appointed by President Bush as the leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, Grace Chung Becker has an extensive background in criminal law. Grace Chung Becker has worked as a narcotics prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, trying cases in the Eastern District of Virginia and arguing criminal appeals on behalf of the United States of America in federal courts around the country. In addition, Grace Chung Becker worked in private practice at Williams and Connolly, LLC in Washington, D.C., where she represented a target in a grand...[more]
A former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and appointed by President Bush as the leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, Grace Chung Becker has an extensive background in criminal law. Grace Chung Becker has worked as a narcotics prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, trying cases in the Eastern District of Virginia and arguing criminal appeals on behalf of the United States of America in federal courts around the country. In addition, Grace Chung Becker worked in private practice at Williams and Connolly, LLC in Washington, D.C., where she represented a target in a grand jury fraud investigation. Earlier in her career, Grace Chung Becker worked for federal judges at the trial and appellate level providing legal research and advice on a wide variety of criminal issues. Grace Chung Becker has provided legal advice to Commissioners on the United States Sentencing Commission who are responsible of promulgating guidelines for prison sentences for criminals convicted in federal court. Grace Chung Becker also advised the Chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on pending criminal legislation, the nomination of political appointees at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Congressional oversight of the FBI and United States Department of Justice. Grace Chung Becker was awarded the "Outstanding Civilian Service" medal for her performance in an Army Inspector General's review of an alleged massacre that occurred during the Korean War. During her tenure, Grace Chung Becker advised the Secretary of the Army and other senior level officials and worked with other components of the Department of Defense on a coordinated review with the government of the Republic of Korea. From 2006-2009, Grace Chung Becker supervised the Justice Department's enforcement of a wide variety of criminal statutes relating to law enforcement misconduct and hate crimes and spearheaded the Division's initiative on human trafficking. Grace Chung Becker testified before Congress on the Department's human trafficking efforts and, with her leadership, the Division created a Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. Grace Chung Becker has also spoken at numerous human trafficking trainings across the United States and abroad. Grace Chung Becker graduated magna cum laude with her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to her studies at Georgetown, Grace Chung Becker earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics magna cum laude from the Wharton School of Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology of Law magna cum laude at the University of Pennsylvania. [less]