Karl Racine

Karl has built, led, and transformed institutions at the highest level. As Attorney General, he turned the D.C. AG’s office into one of the most influential public law offices in the country and established himself as one of the nation’s most effective attorneys general. His leadership on major national issues earned him the bipartisan National Association of Attorneys General’s Kelley-Wyman Award—the organization’s highest honor for an attorney general.

In office, Karl drove results on issues that defined both public trust and business risk: affordable housing, wage theft, consumer protection, juvenile justice reform, public integrity, privacy, competition, ESG, artificial intelligence, and big data. He helped put Washington, D.C. on the map as a model jurisdiction in consumer protection and forward-looking enforcement, while building coalitions and strategies that shaped the national conversation.

Karl brings more than 30 years of legal and executive leadership experience. Before becoming Attorney General, he built a distinguished private practice and became the first African American managing partner of a top-100 U.S. law firm. Over the course of his career, he has defended leading companies in complex civil litigation, white-collar investigations, and criminal matters. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton and as a D.C. Public Defender, giving him rare perspective across government, crisis management, and courtroom advocacy.

Born in Haiti and raised in Washington, D.C., Karl earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he captained the basketball team, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.