Merrick Garland is a former Attorney General of the United States, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and a long-time leader in both public service and private practice. With more than four decades of experience across the judiciary, the Department of Justice, and the private bar, he brings unmatched depth and breadth of perspective to his work as a neutral with the AAA.
A native of the Chicago area, Judge Garland graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following clerkships with Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court, he practiced at Arnold & Porter before joining the Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor. At the DOJ, he supervised prosecutions of national importance, including the Oklahoma City bombing case.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Garland to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he served for more than two decades, including seven years as Chief Judge. From 2017 to 2020, he chaired the Executive Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference. In 2016, he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.
From 2021 to 2025, Garland served as the 86th Attorney General of the United States, overseeing the Department of Justice and its work across the country and around the globe. In 2025, he returned to private practice as a partner at Arnold & Porter.
Judge Garland’s career has been defined by a commitment to fairness, clarity of reasoning, and dedication to the rule of law. These qualities continue to guide his approach as an arbitrator with the AAA.