Bruce Swartz

Bruce Swartz is the Peter Gruber Distinguished Senior Rule of Law Fellow at Yale Law School and a Senior Advisor (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

From 2000 to January 31, 2025, Mr. Swartz served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the Department’s Counselor for International Affairs. In these positions, he was responsible for the international operational work of the Department of Justice – including all extraditions and mutual legal assistance in criminal and national security cases — and also supervised the Department’s overseas rule of law capacity-building programs.  He was an advisor on international issues to nine Attorneys General and represented the Department in multilateral and bilateral negotiations, as well as in sensitive overseas missions.

Mr. Swartz is a recipient of numerous awards for his government service, including the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, the Department of Justice’s Edward H. Levi Award for Outstanding Professionalism and Exemplary Integrity, the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security, and the Criminal Division’s Henry R. Petersen Memorial Award.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Swartz was a partner at Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C. He also held multiple other positions in government service, including liaison prosecutor at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and Deputy Independent Counsel in the corruption investigation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Reagan Administration.

Mr. Swartz clerked for Judge Wilfred Feinberg on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned his B.A. and J.D. from Yale University and was a Henry Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He is a member of the Bars of New York, the District of Columbia, and England and Wales.