Draft:Roy L. Austin Jr.

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Roy L. Austin, Jr.

This article is about the lawyer. For the diplomat (father of the lawyer), see Roy L. Austin.

Roy L. Austin, Jr. is a civil rights attorney, policy advisor, and serves as the inaugural director of the Howard Law Artificial Intelligence Initiative. He served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity during the Obama Administration, and as the Vice President of Civil Rights at Meta from 2021 to 2025.

Early life and education

Austin grew up in State College, PA and was born to parents Roy Leslie Austin and Glynis Josephine Sutherland. His father, born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was an Associate Professor of Sociology, Justice, and African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University and served as Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the George W. Bush Administration.

Austin graduated from State College Area Senior High School in 1987, and earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 1991 and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Chicago Law School in 1995. During his time at Law School, he served as Vice Chair of the Hinton Moot Court Board, President of the Black Law Students' Association, and was an Earl Warren Scholar.

Career

Legal career

U.S. Department of Justice and D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office

Austin started his career as an honors trial attorney with the Criminal Section of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division investigating and prosecuting hate crime and police brutality cases. While serving as honors trial attorney, he was a part of the team that re-investigated the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2009, he joined the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office as a Senior Assistant United States Attorney and Coordinator of the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force. He would later return to the Justice Department as Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 2010-2014, where he supervised the Criminal Section and the Special Litigation Section's law enforcement portfolio. During his time as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Austin led an investigation into the New Orleans Police Department which resulted in a consent decree. In 2014, he represented the United States and testified before the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the United States’ compliance with International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Private Practice

Early in his career, Austin joined Keker & Van Nest LLP in San Francisco in 2000 as an associate after four years at the U.S. Department of Justice. He would later go on to serve as partner at McDermott Will & Emory and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP where his practice primarily focused on criminal defense and civil rights litigation.

The White House

In March 2014, Austin joined the White House Domestic Policy Council as Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity. In this role, he co-authored a landmark report on Big Data and Civil Rights, contributed to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, helped launch the Police Data Initiative, supported expanded reentry assistance, and participated in the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.

Meta/Facebook

Austin was appointed Vice President of Civil Rights & Deputy General Counsel for Meta in January 2021 following an external civil rights audit as a response to the company's products having a discriminatory impact on marginalized groups. Over the course of four years, Austin built and led the company's first civil rights team to oversee civil rights audits, training, and policy reviews. The team tackled issues such as police posting fake profiles for public surveillance, housing and employment discrimination. On January 10th, 2025, Austin announced his departure from the tech conglomerate with his last day being March 31st of that year.

Howard University

On July 31st, 2025 Howard Law School announced Austin as the inaugural director of its Artificial Intelligence Initiative which aims to align AI with civil and human rights rights frameworks.

Recognition

He was listed in Washingtonian Magazine's 500 Most Influential People in D.C. in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2021 and 2022, Austin named in Lawdragon's 500 Leading Lawyers in America. He was also listed as a vLex Fastcase 50 honoree in 2021 for his civil rights and tech work at Meta.

Personal life

Roy Austin, Jr. is married to Traci Mitchell Austin and they have two children.