Stanford Law School - Robert Crown Law Library

The Honorable Leondra R. Kruger was appointed to the California Supreme Court in November 2014, confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on December 22, 2014, and sworn in by the Governor on January 5, 2015.

Leondra R. Kruger, 38, of Washington, D.C., has served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel since 2013. She served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General and as Acting Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General from 2007 to 2013. While serving in that office, she argued 12 cases on behalf of the federal government before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Leondra Kruger is a distinguished lawyer and uncommon student of the law,” said Governor Brown. “She has won the respect of eminent jurists, scholars and practitioners alike.”

“I am deeply honored by Governor Brown's nomination,” said Kruger. “I look forward to returning home to California and, if confirmed, serving the people of California on our state's highest court.”

Kruger was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School in 2007 and an associate at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP from 2004 to 2006. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2003 to 2004 and to the Honorable David S. Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2002 to 2003. Kruger was an associate at Jenner and Block LLP from 2001 to 2002.

Kruger earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Kruger was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. She is a member of the State Bar of California.