Times of San Diego published a wide-ranging report on turnover within the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, where a number of veteran prosecutors have departed amid a period of leadership transition and shifting priorities. The piece draws on numerous current and former staff, many speaking anonymously, to examine morale, management, and the office’s growing emphasis on immigration cases.
Partner Owen Roth, who served nearly a decade as a federal prosecutor in the district before joining the firm, was one of the few sources to speak on the record — and he did so with characteristic balance. He was candid about the strain on the office, describing low morale and a sense among some that the department had drifted from its core principles. But he was equally clear-eyed and fair toward the office’s new leadership, declining to fault the acting U.S. Attorney and praising his credentials, ethics, and integrity without reservation, notwithstanding their differing politics.
Owen also spoke to what makes the role singular. He described the San Diego office as one of the most demanding training grounds in the country for a young trial lawyer — a place where the caseload moves fast and the pressure to do the work right is constant — and said he still recommends the job to prospective applicants for exactly that reason.