Justin Herdman is an American lawyer who served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Northern District of Ohio from 2017 to 2021. Previously, Herdman was a partner in the investigations and white collar defense practice group at

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm based in Washington, D.C. As of 2023, it is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with 2,302 attorneys, and among the highest-grossing in the world with revenues of $2.5 billion. Foun ...

, a Judge Advocate General in the

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

, and an adjunct law professor at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

Education and legal career

Herdman received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

in 1996, his

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1998, and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 2001. Herdman was an Assistant District Attorney in New York City from 2001 to 2005. He also spent time as an associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. From 2006 to 2013, Herdman was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. In this position, he prosecuted a number of terrorism cases, including the case of five activists who plotted to blow up the Ohio 82 Bridge spanning the

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Ohio that reclaims and preserves the industrial, commercial, and rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron, Ohio, ...

in 2012. Prior to becoming a U.S. Attorney, Herdman was a partner at

United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio

In June 2017, Herdman was nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to become the

for the Northern District of Ohio. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ohio prosecutes cases in 40 counties, including areas in and around Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo. Herdman was recommended for the position by U.S. Senators

Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown ( ; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2007 and the 47t ...

(D-Ohio) and

Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management ...

(R-Ohio). The U.S. Senate confirmed Herdman's nomination on August 3, 2017. He resigned on January 8, 2021.

Expired nomination for United States Attorney for the District of Columbia

On May 18, 2020, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Herdman to be the next

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia The United States attorney for the District of Columbia (USADC) is responsible for representing the Federal government of the United States, federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney's ...

. On August 11, 2020, his nomination was sent to the Senate."One Nomination Sent to the Senate" White House, August 11, 2020
On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

References

External links

Biography at Offices of the U.S. Attorneys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herdman, Justin 21st-century American lawyers Alumni of the University of Glasgow Assistant United States attorneys Harvard Law School alumni Jones Day people Living people Ohio University alumni United States attorneys for the Northern District of Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)