Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul (born February 2, 1981) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

who has served as the 45th

Attorney General of Wisconsin The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, ...

since January 2019.

Early life and education

Kaul is the son of

Peg Lautenschlager Peggy Ann Lautenschlager (November 22, 1955 – March 31, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who was the first chair of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission from 2016 to 2017, the 42nd Attorney General of Wisconsin from 2003 to ...

, an attorney and politician, and the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

immigrant Raj Kaul. His stepfather, Bill Rippl, worked as a police officer. He was raised in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. Kaul graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

as a double major in history and economics. He earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. While a student at Stanford, he served as President of the ''

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produces six ...

''.

Career

Kaul clerked for

Michael Boudin Michael Boudin ( ; born November 29, 1939) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He served as Chief Judge of that court from 2001 to 2008. Before his service on the First Circuit, he ...

in the

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts * ...

. From 2007 through 2010, he worked for the law firm

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and other legal fields. ...

, and worked as a federal prosecutor in the

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

's office in Baltimore through 2014. In 2014, Kaul moved back to Wisconsin and joined the law firm

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

office.

Attorney General of Wisconsin

In the 2018 elections, Kaul ran for

defeating incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Brad Schimel Brad Schimel (born February 18, 1965) is an American prosecutor and judge. He was the 44th Attorney General of Wisconsin, serving from 2015 to 2019. He was defeated seeking re-election in 2018 Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2018, and was sub ...

. Kaul won by a small margin of just over 17,000 votes, but Schimel decided not to seek a recount and conceded defeat on November 19. Kaul became the state's first Democratic Attorney General since his mother's term in office. Kaul was reelected in 2022 defeating Republican Eric Toney.

Personal life

Kaul met his wife, Lindsey, at Yale. They have two sons.

Electoral history

References

External links

Wisconsin Attorney General's Office
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, Josh Wisconsin Attorneys General Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin lawyers American politicians of Indian descent People associated with Jenner & Block Stanford Law School alumni Yale University alumni 1980 births Living people People associated with Perkins Coie