At 10:00 a.m. today, Catherine L. Hanaway was sworn in as Missouri's 45th Attorney General in a ceremony steeped in personal significance, with her oath taken on her son John's Bible and witnessed by Honorable Ginger K. Gooch, a former law partner now sitting on the Missouri Supreme Court bench, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.
"It is an honor and privilege to serve as Missouri's 45th Attorney General," Hanaway stated, outlining her vision of serving Missourians by enforcing the law, fighting crime, and defending constitutional freedoms; there is much to do, and she affirmed her readiness to begin the Attorney General's Office communicated. Hanaway, known for her work as a trial lawyer and her previous role as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, has now set the stage for her tenure, focusing on public safety and upholding the laws to protect Missouri families.
Attorney General Hanaway's background includes a historic tenure as the first woman elected Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives where she pushed for legislative advances in public safety and Second Amendment rights, this according to her own recounting from the previous announcement. Her past roles at a national law firm and the federal office have prepared her to tackle crime prevention and consumer protection with a reputed vigor that enforces accountability at every level; she led more than 4,000 criminal and civil cases and directed a team of over 100 attorneys and investigators during her federal tenure.
Throughout her career, Attorney General Hanaway has carried a torch for prosecutorial innovation targeting healthcare fraud, white-collar crime, and her efforts in private practice centered around complex litigation in the realms of fraud, financial misconduct, as she told her peers, and regulatory compliance, this all gleaned from her biography. With a BA from Creighton University and a Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, her educational background arms her with both the legal acumen and the practical experience to navigate the multifaceted challenges of the Attorney General's role.
With St. Louis as her home base alongside her husband Chris and their two children, Hanaway's presence extends beyond the legal arena into her community service roles, as in her previous capacity as Chair of the Regional Business Council and board membership on the St. Louis Regional Crime Commission, reflecting a dedication to civic engagement that resonates with her professional mandate to protect and serve as noted by the Attorney General's Office.
