Lee G. Dunst entered duty as a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York on May 31, 2022.

Prior to his appointment, Judge Dunst was a litigation partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in New York, where his practice focused on white collar criminal and civil investigations, as well as complex civil litigation.  During his tenure of more than twenty years at Gibson Dunn, he represented numerous clients in connection with a wide of range of civil litigation and government investigations.  From 1995 to 2000, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York.  While in government service, Judge Dunst received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance from the Department of Justice and also served as the Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Section in Brooklyn.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he worked as a litigation associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP from 1993 to 1995.  

Judge Dunst graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1986 and cum laude from New York University School of Law in 1992.  During the years between college and law school, he worked as a television news writer at News12 Long Island and later as an account executive at a New York City advertising agency.  Following law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Reena Raggi of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 1992 to 1993. 

During his legal career, Judge Dunst has spoken and written extensively on white collar regulatory issues, as well as matters concerning civil commercial litigation.  He also served as an Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Principles of the Law of Compliance Enforcement & Risk Management project and as a member of the Federal Bar Council American Inn of Court.  Judge Dunst previously served on the boards of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and Democracy Prep Charter School.