Global Indian: Justin S. Anand: U.S. Magistrate Judge in the 'Deep South'

Justin S. Anand ['93], a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta, Georgia, has joined the distinguished lineup of Indian Americans now serving on the federal bench. He was named last year as U.S. magistrate judge for the Northern District of Georgia. ...

A graduate of Swarthmore College, Anand worked in Washington, D.C., for two years as a policy analyst for a private consulting firm before enrolling at the Harvard Law School.

At Harvard, he worked on pro bono criminal defense cases in a clinic run by Professor Charles Ogletree and clerked in New York for U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff ['64], who later presided in the Rajat Gupta insider trading case.

At Cleary Gottlieb, Anand did international corporate work for underdeveloped countries, including the Republic of Indonesia, the Daily Report said.

Anand told India-West he moved to Atlanta, where his wife's family is from, and eventually become deputy chief of the economic crime and cybercrime unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Georgia's Northern District in Atlanta.

His first big case, the Daily Journal said, was the investigation of former Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett. Federal prosecutors eventually declined to prosecute Barrett, whom Gov. Sonny Perdue suspended amid an investigation into her unauthorized investment of $7.2 million in escrow funds. Barrett's investment adviser, Byron Rainner, lost more than $2 million of the funds in high-risk investments. Working with a former federal prosecutor, Anand eventually secured guilty pleas from Rainner and Barrett's former chief deputy, Caudell Jones.

Anand continued to pursue high-profile fraud cases until his appointment to the bench.

Justin Anand '93 was interested in public policy as a student at Swarthmore and looked to become involved in a field that allowed him to deliver social change. In 2001, Anand was trapped in a subway train during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He cites his experience as being instrumental in pushing him to pursue a career in criminal litigation. After landing a job as a federal prosecutor in Atlanta, Anand's first big case involved the investigation of former Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett's unauthorized investment of $7.2 million in escrow funds.