Gillian E. Metzger

Gillian E. Metzger
Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
Acting
September 2023 – January 5, 2024
Preceded byBenjamin C. Mizer (acting)
Succeeded byChristopher Fonzone
Personal details
Born (1965-10-02) October 2, 1965 (age 59)
ProfessionLaw professor, government official
EducationYale University (BA)
University of Oxford (BPhil)
Columbia University (JD)
Scientific career
FieldsConstitutional law, administrative law, federalism
InstitutionsColumbia Law School

Gillian E. Metzger (born October 2, 1965) is an American legal scholar and a professor of law at Columbia Law School who is currently serving in the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel.

Early life and education

The daughter of Columbia University history professor Walter P. Metzger, Gillian grew up on campus in faculty housing.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University in 1987, and then worked as a legislative aide for District Council 37, a local union in New York City.[1] Metzger then earned a Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford.[1] After several years as a staff analyst for New York City government, Metzger enrolled in Columbia Law School, earning her J.D. degree in 1995.[2]

Professional career

After law school, Metzger first clerked with U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge Patricia Wald and then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[2]

After completing her clerkship with Ginsburg, Metzger became a staff attorney for the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law for several years. During her time at the Brennan Center, Metzger worked on two notable causes: challenging Florida's permanent disenfranchisement of convicted felons and defending campaign finance reform measures.[2] Her work on felon disenfranchisement earned her an invitation to testify before the United States House Committee on the Judiciary on October 21, 1999.[3]

Metzger joined Columbia Law's faculty in 2001. Her areas of expertise are constitutional law, administrative law, federalism, and institutional reform.[2] She also has served as the faculty advisor to the school's American Constitution Society for Law and Policy chapter.[4] She has argued for an expanded reading of Article Four of the United States Constitution.[5]

In 2023 Metzger joined the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel as a deputy assistant attorney general.[6] She served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General before the confirmation of Christopher Fonzone. She is currently on the board of directors of the Columbia Law Review.[7]

Personal

Metzger and her husband, New York City Department of Finance Director of Tax Policy Research Michael Hyman, live on Manhattan's Upper West Side.[1] They have two sons, Oliver and Nathaniel Hyman-Metzger.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Five New Faces: The Law School's Newest Faculty Members". Columbia Law School. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "Gillian Metzger". Columbia Law School. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008.
  3. ^ "Gillian Metzger Testimony Before the House Judiciary Committee - Brennan Center for Justice". www.brennancenter.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009.
  4. ^ "American Constitution Society :: Columbia Law School". Archived from the original on June 10, 2007.
  5. ^ Gillian E. Metzger, Congress, Article IV, and Interstate Relations Archived 2017-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, 120 Harv. L. Rev. 1468 (2007).
  6. ^ "Two Professors Head to the DOJ and One Returns to Campus". Columbia Law School. January 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Otterman, Sharon (June 5, 2024). "Columbia Law Review Website Is Taken Offline Over Article Criticizing Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 6, 2024.