US Attorney Biography
Drew Wrigley is a fourth-generation North Dakota native, born in Bismarck. He grew up in Fargo and graduated from Fargo South High School before attending and graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1988 with honors in Economics and a minor in Philosophy. Between years in law school at American University in Washington, DC, Drew returned to North Dakota and worked alternately for Federal Judge Rodney Webb, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Solberg Law Firm. He graduated from law school in May 1991 and began a year-long judicial clerkship in Delaware.
In 1993 Drew joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office as an Assistant District Attorney. He served there for over five years, assigned within the trial division, including the Rape and Sexual Assault Unit and the Major Trials Unit. Drew’s extensive investigative and trial work as a state and federal prosecutor has covered all varieties of criminal prosecution.
In 1998 Drew returned home to Bismarck, where he worked until late 2001, when he was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as North Dakota’s 17th United States Attorney.
U.S. Attorney Wrigley credits his outstanding staff, an aggressive enforcement approach, and strong working relationships between federal, state, and local law enforcement for a dramatic increase in the volume of federal cases handled each year in North Dakota. Since 2001 the United States Attorney’s Office has tripled the number of criminal cases prosecuted yearly and has led statewide and regional efforts to combat drug trafficking, violent crime, gun crime, internet crimes against children, and corruption.
