A 20-year veteran of the United States Department of Justice, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery has been appointed as the temporary Top Federal Prosecutor for the Southern District of Texas. By Virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, second-in-command Jennifer Lowery will take over in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas upon the departure of U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. The adjustments made in the Office are expected on account of the transition to a new administration. Acting U.S. Attorney Robert M. “Monty,” Wilkinson told the remaining 55 Trump-appointed attorneys to vacate their positions by the end of the month in order to allow the appointment of new U.S. Attorneys in the 94 districts across the United States. Outgoing U.S. Attorney Patrick will resign effective 11:59 PM of February 28, from when First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery will take over until a new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas has been confirmed.
Table of Contents
- Appointment
- Educational Background and Bar Admission
- Legal Career – Government Service
- Legal Career- Department of Justice
- Legal Career – Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
- Areas of Practice and Teaching Background
- Office Jurisdiction
- Contact Details
- Houston Branch Office
- Brownsville Branch Office
- Corpus Christi Branch Office
- Laredo Branch Office
- McAllen Branch Office
- Social Media Profiles of Jennifer Lowery
Appointment
Taking the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery has been named the new interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the district. Attorney Lowery will be leading the United States Attorney’s Office as a temporary replacement of the departing U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. The latter is stepping down from his position as per the request of President-elect Joe Biden. Top Federal Prosecutor Patrick is expected to tender his letter of resignation on or before February 28, 2021, as specified by Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. “Monty” Wilkinson last February 9, 2021, during their all-U.S. Attorney call discussing the aforementioned request for the vacating of the posts of the remaining 55 U.S. Attorney Offices with Trump-appointed Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officials still in position. Pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Act, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery will officially begin performing duties as an Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas on March 1, 2021. Her term as the appointed interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official shall end after 300 days, or on such time that a new U.S. Attorney has been nominated and confirmed by President Joe Biden and the Senate, respectively.
Educational Background and Bar Admission
Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science. She graduated from the Texas State University, formerly known as the Southwest Texas State University, in Houston, Texas, in 1989 and subsequently attended law school at the South Texas College of Law, from where she received her Juris Doctorate in May of 1992. U.S. Attorney Lowery has been eligible to practice in the State of Texas since November 6, 1992.
Legal Career – Government Service
Prior to joining the federal government, U.S. Attorney Lowery launched her legal career by joining the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney. For eight years, from the year 1992 to 2000, she managed a large number of criminal cases, including the prosecution of 4 capital murder trials. Within her service in the Office of the District Attorney for the Jefferson County, Acting U.S. Attorney Lowery also served in different capacities, including being a Drug Diversion Lawyer, a Drug Intake Lawyer, a Felony Attorney, a Grand Jury Attorney, and a Misdemeanor Chief and Attorney.
Legal Career- Department of Justice
Proceeding to be a part of the federal government, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery joined the United States Department of Justice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2000, and later as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. Throughout the four years that she has been of service to the Eastern District Texas, U.S. Attorney Lowery consistently and efficiently argued cases before the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She has also worked as an Organized Crime Drug Task Force, General Crimes Prosecutor, and a Crimes Against Women Coordinator. She has been assigned under the Operation Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster Command Center in 2003. And all the while, Acting U.S. Attorney Lowery served as a Texas Exile Prosecutor.
In 2004, U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery became a Hearing Officer for the Victims of 9/11/01 Compensation Fund. She later joined the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys as an Assistant General Counsel and counsel to the Director’s Staff. From 2005 to 2007, Acting U.S. Attorney Lowery carried out her duties, such as providing advice on legal and policy issues involving violent and white-collar crimes and giving counsel management on employee disciplinary actions, ethics matters, and grievances. On top of that, she trained new FBI agents and represented the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys before the Merit System Protection Board. Following her short stint in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Acting U.S. Attorney Lowery became a Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C. She served in the capacity for a year, mainly providing advice on legal issues concerning executive clemency, explosives, and violent crimes, and being the point person for the U.S. Marshal Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Legal Career – Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery first came into the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas in 2008. She was initially employed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney but quickly made her way up through the highest positions in the Office. The United States Attorney Lowery has shown great dedication and immense leadership skills and has consistently been promoted into positions of increasing responsibility in the Office. She primarily focused on cases in the Major Offenders Section-Gang, before advancing to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Section and becoming significantly more skilled in prosecuting cases involving drug and firearm distribution by notorious gangs. In her first few years in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Lowery has been delegated to lead as an Acting Deputy Criminal Chief of the Major Fraud Section, as an Ethics Advisor, as well as a Senior Litigation Counsel. She also later became the Deputy Criminal Chief of the Health Care/Program Fraud Section from 2013 to 2015. U.S. Attorney Lowery was made responsible for leading 15 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in handling and prosecuting fraud cases involving government programs.
In June of 2015, Acting U.S. Attorney Lowery was appointed as the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of Litigation Support. In this position, she supervised about 200 support personnel for a period of three years until May of 2018. Top Federal Prosecutor Lowery then became Chief of the Criminal Division for the Southern District of Texas, remaining for two years until she was promoted to being second-in-command in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. The preferment was made in December of 2020, upon the resignation of former U.S. Attorney Tim Braley, who decided to pursue a career in private practice. As First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Jennifer Lowery had multiple responsibilities in the Office, including supervising and managing the Office’s daily operations, being Chief of Staff, and being present as an Attorney-Advisor to the U.S. Attorney.
Areas of Practice and Teaching Background
With almost 30 years of experience in the legal field and 20 of those years focused on federal government service, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery has developed expertise in several practice areas. She is well-versed in criminal prosecutions as well as in civil rights litigations. She is also adept in handling investigations and prosecutions involving environmental, health care, intellectual property, immigration, and securities law. United States Attorney Lowery began teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center in August of 2018, sharing her valuable knowledge in Criminal Litigation and Procedure with the university’s students.
Office Jurisdiction
The Southern District of Texas is one of the four federal court districts in the state. It has jurisdiction over the counties of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Refugio, and Victoria and of the rest of the 43 counties within the district. The Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas is now under the leadership of interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official Jennifer B. Lowery. As Acting United States Attorney, she supervises and manages the Office as it performs its duties to serve and protect its almost nine million residents. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas has Offices in Brownsville, Corpus, Galveston, Laredo, and McAllen. It comprises 200 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 500 support personnel dedicated to handling all of the criminal prosecutions and civil litigations under the district’s jurisdiction. Known for having the busiest criminal docket in the United States, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas handles a variety of criminal cases, with emphasis on asset forfeiture and financial litigations, fraud, human rights and organized crimes, narcotics enforcement, and Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force cases, national security and public corruption prosecutions, and violent crimes.
Contact Details
Full Name: Jennifer Bess Lowery
District/State: Southern District of Texas
Public email ID: usatxs.atty@usdoj.gov and Jennifer.lowery@usdoj.gov
Houston Branch Office
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
1000 Louisiana, Ste. 2300
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 567-9000
Main
(713) 718-3300
Fax
Brownsville Branch Office
United States Federal Courthouse
U.S. Attorney’s Office
600 E. Harrison, Ste. 201
Brownsville, TX 78520-5106
(956) 548-2554
Main
Corpus Christi Branch Office
One Shoreline Plaza South Tower
800 N. Shoreline Blvd., Ste. 500
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
(361) 888-3111
Main
Laredo Branch Office
United States Attorney’s Office
P.O. Box 1179
Laredo, TX 78042-1179
(956) 723-6523
Main
McAllen Branch Office
Bentsen Tower
1701 W. Highway 83, #600
McAllen, TX 78501-5160
(956) 618-8010
Main
Social Media Profiles of Jennifer Lowery
Username: Jennifer Lowery
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferloweryesq/
Username: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas
URL: https://www.facebook.com/usaosdtx/
YouTube
Username: N/A
URL: N/A
Username: U.S. Attorney SDTX
Tag: @USAO_SDTX
URL: https://twitter.com/USAO_SDTX
Updated: August 24, 2021