‘Pursuing Justice’

Claudia Quiroz ’07 spent much of her career in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuting cyber and white-collar crime, often in the darkest corners of the Internet. In November 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Quiroz as general counsel at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

Quiroz said the University of Wisconsin Law School’s commitment to law in action influenced her path after graduation. “I didn’t know where my Law School education would take me, but I feel extremely fortunate that I have been able to dedicate such a large part of my career to public service,” she said. “UW and my professors contributed to this path by emphasizing the importance of the law and pursuing justice. After graduation, I simply followed my passion and love for the law and have had an incredibly satisfying career.”

After law school, Quiroz clerked for the Hon. Micaela Alvarez in the Southern District of Texas, later spending six years as an associate in the San Francisco office of K&L Gates, where she focused on commercial litigation, white-collar crime and government enforcement. She then joined the DOJ, serving as a federal prosecutor for 11 years. As an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of California, Quiroz prosecuted organized crime and violent gangs, eventually focusing on complex financial investigations, corporate fraud, digital assets and blockchain technology, and cybercrime.

In 2020, she led an investigation resulting in the DOJ’s largest cryptocurrency seizure at the time. Two years later, she was the lead attorney in the investigation and takedown of the Russian Hydra Market, the world’s largest and longest running darknet marketplace.

“We worked very closely with German law enforcement on that matter,” Quiroz noted, emphasizing the importance of international collaboration. “I worked with incredible prosecutors, agents and law enforcement partners on a case that had a significant impact.”

Quiroz later became the director of the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, overseeing some of the most sophisticated matters involving cybercrime and digital assets before serving as deputy chief of the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, D.C. Now she’s eager to apply her skills to her new role with the DFPI.

“At the DOJ I learned how to be a better lawyer; I’m thrilled to bring those skills and expertise to the State of California to protect consumers from fraud and abuse and help foster innovation in the financial sector,” she said. “At DFPI, I am tackling complex issues involving sophisticated technologies in FinTech and financial services. This is a unique opportunity to work with a fantastic and growing team to help consumers in the world’s fourth largest economy.”

While a law degree can take one’s career in many directions, Quiroz is grateful to have remained an active practitioner and focused on serving the public. “Those of us with legal degrees have a responsibility to our communities and to society,” she said. “Now more than ever, we need dedicated lawyers committed to upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the integrity of our legal systems.”

 

By Brian Walker