Lefkowitz, Jay P., 1962-

Jay P. Lefkowitz was born in 1962 in Albany, New York and raised in a Jewish family. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from Columbia University in New York, New York in 1984 and a law degree in 1987. After graduating, he obtained a position with the Paul Weiss law firm. During the George H. W. Bush administration, he served as Director of Cabinet Affairs and Deputy Executive Secretary to the Domestic Policy Council. Following the end of the administration in 1993, he joined the New York office of the international law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where he eventually became partner. During the George W. Bush administration, Lefkowitz first served as General Counsel for the Office of Management and Budget. In 2002, he became Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. After departing the White House in 2003, Lefkowitz returned to Kirkland & Ellis and has worked on high profile legal cases involving government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, and large corporations including Verizon and General Motors. From 2005-2009, he served on the United States’ Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea. Lefkowitz and his wife, Elena, married in 1991 and have three children. They are heavily involved in the Jewish community in New York.