New Haven Native Sworn In As 1st Black Female U.S. Attorney For CT

NEW HAVEN, CT —Vanessa Roberts Avery, 47, of West Hartford, was sworn in Monday as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut by Chief U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in New Haven.

President Joe Biden nominated Avery to serve as U.S. Attorney Jan. 26. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination April 27.

“It is an honor to return to this office, in the city where I was raised, to serve as Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney,” Avery was quoted as saying. “I look forward to working with the many talented members of this office, as well as our dedicated law enforcement partners, to enforce federal criminal and civil laws, protect our communities, and ensure justice for all who live in our state.”

Before her appointment as U.S. Attorney, Avery served as the Associate Attorney General and Chief of the Division of Enforcement and Public Protection at the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. Since January 2019, she led the affirmative litigation and investigations on behalf of the State of Connecticut in the areas of antitrust, opioids, government program fraud, consumer protection, child protection, environment, energy, finance, privacy and cybersecurity, and civil rights.

Avery served on the Attorney General’s Litigation Management Committee, represented the Attorney General on the Connecticut Bar Association Policing Task Force, and led the COVID-19 Fraud Task Force in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chief State’s Attorney’s Office.

From 2014 to 2019, Avery was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division in this District, prosecuting a variety of complex civil fraud cases under the False Claims Act, asset forfeiture cases, environmental violations, civil rights matters, and defending Bivens and medical malpractice cases.

From 2006 to 2014, she was a litigation attorney at McCarter & English LLP, where she focused on business and financial litigation, intellectual property, trust and probate, and product liability cases. From 2003 to 2005, Avery was a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division in Washington, D.C. From 1999 to 2003, she was an attorney in the Hartford Trial Group at Cummings & Lockwood LLC.

Avery is a graduate of Yale University and the Georgetown University Law Center. She is a New Haven native and a graduate of the New Haven Public Schools.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation. As U.S. Attorney, Avery supervises a staff of approximately 68 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and approximately 57 staff members at offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.

Avery is the 54th U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, an office that was established in 1789.