A native New Yorker, William P. Barr earned his A.B. and M.A. degrees at Columbia University and his J.D. at George Washington University, after which he spent a decade practicing law at a Washington firm, interrupted by a stint serving in the Reagan White House. President George H. W. Bush successively appointed Barr Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and, finally, the 77th Attorney General. Barr retired in 2008 after fifteen years as general counsel of GTE Corporation and its successor company, Verizon, after which he served on a number of corporate boards and consulted for corporate clients. Barr agreed to serve as the 85th Attorney General for the last two years of President Trump's term.