Liz Oyer is an experienced attorney and justice advocate. She most recently served in the Department of Justice as United States Pardon Attorney (April 2022 to March 2025), overseeing the Office of the Pardon Attorney. In that role, Liz was responsible for reviewing applications from individuals across the country seeking pardons and commutations of sentence and preparing recommendations for the President concerning the exercise of his constitutional clemency power. The Pardon Attorney is a career-reserved position in the Senior Executive Service; it is not a political appointment. 

Liz’s tenure as Pardon Attorney was focused on making second chances through clemency available to all deserving Americans without consideration of status, resources, or politics. Liz and her team completely overhauled the clemency application process to make it more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly, including streamlining and improving the application forms for the first time in decades. Liz conducted extensive community outreach and education, including visits to federal prisons around the country. During her three years as Pardon Attorney, Liz and her team made recommendations to the President in over 15,000 clemency cases, prioritizing those involving overly harsh sentences imposed under outdated laws and policies. 

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Liz served for nearly 10 years as a Federal Public Defender. She represented clients facing federal criminal charges in pretrial, trial, and sentencing proceedings. Liz was the first public defender appointed to serve as Pardon Attorney. Her experience standing beside clients in federal court shaped her perspective on the value of second chances and informed her understanding of the vital role clemency can play in mitigating excesses of the criminal justice system.

Liz started her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley Marcus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. From there, Liz worked for the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, where she became a partner and practiced civil and criminal litigation before pivoting to public service. She graduated from Harvard Law School (2004) and Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (2001). 

Liz is a longtime resident of Washington, D.C., where she lives with her husband and son. Liz volunteers with organizations including Martha’s Table and Community of Hope. She is a member of the Board of the D.C. Bar Foundation. Liz has published op-eds about her legal work in Rolling Stone magazine, the Washington Post, and BuzzFeed News. The bizarre circumstances surrounding her March 2025 termination from the Department of Justice were covered by the New York Times.