Farleigh Earhart

Farleigh Earhart is the acting general counsel of the Smithsonian Institution. She reports to the Board of Regents and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch. She serves as the principal legal advisor to the Board, the Secretary and other Institution officials.

The Smithsonian’s general counsel directs and coordinates all legal matters and prepares legal opinions relevant to the operations of the Institution, including coordination with the Department of Justice on litigation matters, representation in administrative proceedings, engagement and management of outside counsel and management of the team of lawyers and support staff who provide the legal advice and representation to the entire Institution.

Earhart has served in the Office of the General Counsel since 1999. Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Earhart was a trial attorney in the Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section, and practiced environmental law with Morgan Lewis. Earhart was a law clerk to Judge John M. Duhé Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Earhart earned her juris doctor degree with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was an articles editor on the North Carolina Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. She received her Bachelor of Arts with honors in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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SI-63-2023