Derek Anthony West (born August 12, 1965) is an American attorney and former government official, and the current Senior Vice President and chief legal officer of Uber.^[1][2] Before Uber, West was Associate Attorney General of the United States^[3] and general counsel of PepsiCo.^[4] West previously served as the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, the largest litigating division in the Department of Justice.^[5]

During his time at the Department of Justice, West played a role in the administration's decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) after concluding that the statute was unconstitutional.^[6] West was also involved in efforts by the Department to reclaim $37 billion from large financial institutions^[7] and worked on the department's efforts to improve public safety in Indian country, including the tribal provisions in the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).^[8][9][10] On August 21, 2014, West announced a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch.^[11][12]

West is the brother-in-law of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

West was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret "Peggy" (née Reddick) and Franklin Delano West (1940-2013).^[13][14][15] West was raised in San Jose, California, where he lived with his two younger sisters, Pamela and Patricia.^[16] His father, the first person in his family to attend college, was born and raised in Georgia and worked for IBM while his mother, who was a teacher, was born and raised in Alabama.^[14][17] He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Catholic, all-male, private secondary school, where he served as freshman class president, before graduating in 1983.^[18]

West received his Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard College in 1987, where he served as publisher of the Harvard Political Review.^[19] In 1988, West began volunteering and working on political campaigns, engaging in Democratic political causes, such as working as the chief of staff to the Boston, Massachusetts treasurer of Michael Dukakis's presidential campaign.^[20] West also served as a finance director to the Democratic Governors Association, until 1989.^[20] He received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1992, where he served as the President of the Stanford Law Review.^[21] While attending Stanford, he worked as a summer intern for Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman in 1990.^[20] He also worked as a summer intern for Tuttle & Taylor, and Morrison & Foerster in 1991.^[14]

After graduating, West continued his work in Democratic politics, working as chief of staff to the finance chair of the California Democratic Party, while also working in private practice as an associate at the Bingham McCutchen San Jose office, from 1992 to 1993.^[14] In 1993, he was admitted to the State Bar of California, and was admitted to the Superior Court of California and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.^[20]

From 1999 to 2001, he was a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the California Attorney General, under Bill Lockyer.^[22][23] From 2001 to 2009, he was a litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco.^[24] He also served as the California co-chairman of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.^[25]

West serves on the Board of Directors for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.^[26]

West married Maya Harris, the sister of Vice President Kamala Harris, in July 1998, becoming the step-father to her daughter, Meena Harris from an earlier relationship.^[62][63] They were both in the class of 1992 at Stanford Law School.^[64] They became friends at school, but did not begin a relationship until after graduation.^[65]