Deputy Attorney General: Ross L. Malone Jr.

Ross L. Malone Jr. was the 3rd Deputy Attorney General of the United States. He served as the Department’s second-ranking official from August 1952 to January 1953.

As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Malone put into action an arrangement between the Department and the American Bar Association (ABA) under which the ABA advises the Department regarding the professional qualifications of lawyers being considered for potential appointment to the federal judiciary.

Mr. Malone commenced his public service career in 1936 in the role of city attorney in Roswell, New Mexico. In 1937 he joined another attorney, Jefferson D. Atwood, to form the private firm of Atwood & Malone in that city. Except for a period of uniformed service as a line officer in the United States Navy during World War II, in which he reached the rank of lieutenant commander, Mr. Malone remained with his law firm for many years. He became a member of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners in 1949.

A native of Roswell, Mr. Malone graduated from Washington and Lee University with his LL.B. degree in 1932.