Lara K. Eshkenazi was appointed as a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York on May 20, 2024. 

Prior to her appointment, Judge Eshkenazi served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  During her 21 years at the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Eshkenazi litigated and supervised, both defensively and affirmatively, a broad range of cases over a wide variety of subject matter areas, including civil rights, employment law, civil fraud, torts, social security, tax, immigration, the Freedom of Information Act, administrative law, and constitutional law. During her tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Eshkenazi served in several supervisory roles, including Deputy Chief of the Civil Frauds Unit, Co-Chief of the Civil Rights Unit, and Deputy Chief of the Civil Division.

During her time as an Assistant United States Attorney, Judge Eshkenazi received several distinguished awards including the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney, the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for outstanding legal achievement for participation in litigation, and the New York City Bar Association’s Henry L. Stimson Medal in recognition of outstanding work as an Assistant United States Attorney. 

Judge Eshkenazi graduated from Vassar College in 1992 with general honors and an A.B. in English. She then earned a J.D. cum laude from Boston University Law School in 1995. Upon graduating from law school, Judge Eshkenazi became a law clerk for the Honorable Nicholas Tsoucalas of the United States Court of International Trade.  Upon completion of her clerkship, Judge Eshkenazi joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney where she served for five years handling a wide range of felony prosecutions.