Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Njeri B. Maldonado to begin hearing cases in September 2016. Judge Maldonado earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2001 from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the Loyola University School of Law. From 2009 to September 2016, Judge Maldonado served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Atlanta. From 2012 through 2013, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, Department of Justice, in Atlanta. From 2005 through 2008, she served an associate attorney for Blue Williams LLP, in Metairie, La. Judge Maldonado is a member of the Louisiana State Bar.