James B. Comey - Career, 1985-2005

Career, 1985-2005

After law school, Comey served as a law clerk for then-United States District Judge John M. Walker, Jr. in Manhattan. Then, he was an associate for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in their New York Office. He next joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he worked from 1987 to 1993. While there, he served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

From 1996 through 2001, Comey served as Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the United States Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia. While in Richmond, Comey also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. He then was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, from January 2002 to the time of his confirmation as Deputy Attorney General on December 11, 2003

Comey is credited as the main protagonist in Martha Stewart's 2004 conviction for obstruction of justice, stating "This criminal case is about lying - lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC, lying to investors."