Laura A. Cordero has dedicated her entire legal career to public service. She joins the Superior Court for the District of Columbia from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she served with distinction for twelve years.
Most recently, Ms. Cordero served as Executive Assistant United States Attorney for External Affairs. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining effective partnerships with federal and local law enforcement, government agencies, and the community in the District of Columbia. She was also responsible for coordinating an extensive community engagement network, involving a full range of community-based programs and initiatives for youth and adults specifically aimed at reducing violent crime in the District of Columbia. In addition, Ms. Cordero represented the United States Attorney’s Office on a wide range of committees and task forces addressing an array of issues ranging from law enforcement to social service concerns.
Ms. Cordero first joined the United States Attorney’s Office in 1993, where she prosecuted a wide variety of criminal cases in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She also prepared a number of appellate briefs and argued cases on behalf of the United States before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1999, Ms. Cordero was assigned as the first Community Prosecutor for the Metropolitan Police Department Third District, as part of the United States Attorney’s Office city-wide Community Prosecution Program. In this capacity, she served as a vital link between law enforcement, city agencies, community organizations, victims of crime and concerned citizens. Through her Community Prosecution work, which focused on a limited geographic region, Ms. Cordero was able to become more familiar with the crime patterns in that community, to work more closely with both the police and residents of that community, and, consequently, to enhance community trust, foster greater cooperation with ongoing law enforcement efforts, and better address specific public safety concerns.
Ms. Cordero originally joined the Department of Justice in 1991 under the Attorney General’s Honor Law Graduate Program, where she was assigned to the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division. As a trial attorney, she was responsible for all aspects of litigation and administrative enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This included conducting investigations of violations or abridgement of voting rights, and monitoring polling place and other election day activities in numerous political jurisdictions across the United States, in order to ensure that racial and language minorities would be permitted to cast their vote and have those votes counted.
Prior to that, Ms. Cordero served as law clerk to the Honorable James A. Parker of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. As a law clerk, she assisted with both civil and criminal matters, as the judge presided over cases in various cities across the state.
Ms. Cordero earned her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988, and a B.A. degree in Political Science and Mathematical Science, with highest honors, from DePaul University in 1985.