Reno, Janet, 1938-2016

<p>Janet Reno became the first female attorney general when she was nominated to that position by President Clinton. Reno served as attorney general throughout Clinton's eight years in office, from 1993 to 2001.</p>

<p>Reno was born in Miami, Florida, in 1938. She received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Cornell University and her law degree from Harvard University. Reno first entered the political arena in 1971 when she was appointed staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives; her major task was to reform the Florida judicial system. Reno left that position in 1973 when she accepted a job with the Dade County State Attorney.</p>

<p>Reno took a break from the state attorney's office when she decided to practice law privately with the firm of Steel, Hector & Davis (1976-1978). She soon returned to public office, being elected five times to the position of State Attorney for Dade County, Florida, and serving in that capacity from 1978 until her appointment by President Clinton in 1993.</p>

<p>Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 until 2001. President Bill Clinton nominated Reno on February 11, 1993, and the Senate confirmed her the following month. She was the first woman to serve as Attorney General and the second-longest serving Attorney General in U.S. history, after William Wirt.</p>

<p>Reno was born and raised in Miami, Florida. After leaving to attend Cornell University and Harvard Law School, she returned to Miami where she started her career at private law firms. Her first foray into government was as a staff member for the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. She then worked for the Dade County State Attorney's Office before returning to private practice. She was elected to the Office of State Attorney five times.</p>

<p>Reno was born in Miami, Florida. Reno's mother, Jane Wallace (née Wood), wrote a weekly home improvement column for The Miami News under a male pseudonym and later became an investigative reporter for the paper. Janet's father, Henry Olaf Reno (né Rasmussen), was an emigrant from Denmark and a reporter for the Miami Herald for 43 years. Janet Reno had three younger siblings: Mark; writer Robert Reno; and Maggy Hurchalla. In 1943, the Reno family moved to a house in rural South Miami; it came with enough land to keep farm animals, including cows, chicken, ducks, goats, and turkeys.  Reno helped her parents churn butter, which the family sold to make ends meet.

<p>Janet Reno was born on July 21, 1938 in Miami, Florida. She received her A.B. degree from Cornell University in 1960, and her LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School in 1963.</p>

<p>From 1963-1967, Ms. Reno was an associate at Brigham & Brigham. In 1967, she became a partner at Lewis & Reno and remained there until 1971, when she became staff director, Judicial Committee, Florida House of Representatives. In the spring of 1973, she was consultant to the Florida State Senate Criminal Justice Committee for Revision of Florida’s Criminal Code. After working as the administrative assistant to the state attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit, Florida (Miami) from 1973-1976, Ms. Reno rejoined the private sector as a partner at Steel, Hector & Davis in Miami. She remained in that position until 1978, when the Governor of Florida appointed her to serve as the State Attorney in Miami making her the first woman to hold that top prosecutor position. She stayed in that position until 1993, when she was appointed Attorney General by President Clinton.</p>

<p>Ms. Reno was the President of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association from 1984 to 1985. Additionally, she was a member of the Special Committee on Criminal Justice in a Free Society of the American Bar Association from 1986-1988. In 1992, she was a member of the Task Force on Minorities and the Justice System of the American Bar Association.</p>