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Deputy U.S. Attorney

Louis D. Lappen

Louis D. Lappen has served as the Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since April 2018. As the Deputy U.S. Attorney, Mr. Lappen helps oversee the operations of the Office, manages AUSA hiring and training, and prosecutes white collar criminal and public corruption cases.

Louis D. Lappen

Mr. Lappen was the Acting U.S. Attorney in the District from December 2016 through April 2018 and the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2010 through 2016. Under Mr. Lappen’s leadership as Acting U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney, the Office was a national leader in public corruption prosecutions, obtaining convictions of a U.S. Congressman, local mayors, judges, union officials, and police officers.

Mr. Lappen has worked as a federal prosecutor in the Office since 1997, handling a wide variety of criminal cases, including white collar crime, corruption, child exploitation, violent crime, and narcotics distribution. Mr. Lappen successfully prosecuted the case of United States v. Georgiou, which involved a $200 million international securities fraud scheme, and United States v. Castro which resulted in the conviction of a high-ranking Philadelphia Police Officer for extortion. During his career, Mr. Lappen has received numerous awards, including the American Bar Association’s Norman Maleng Minister of Justice Award and the Center City District Award of Excellence.

Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Lappen worked as an associate at Schnader, Harrison, Segal, and Lewis, and worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. He also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Franklin S. Van Antwerpen, United States District Judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Lappen earned a B.A. in English Literature, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in English Literature from Duke University, and a J.D. from Duke University Law School, where he was an editor of the Duke Law Journal. 

Updated June 24, 2022