Christopher Ladwig

Christopher J. Ladwig was sworn in as an Assistant United States Attorney on February 22, 2016.  Chris currently works in the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  His caseload includes criminal matters relating to violence, civil rights violations, and white collar crimes in the Eastern District: arsons and rioting, civil rights violations, firearm violations, narcotics trafficking, tax evasion, and child exploitation. In 2018, Chris was assigned to supervise the Eastern District of Wisconsin's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program and Civil Rights Coordinator. As the PSN Coordinator, Chris has worked with federal and local law enforcement agencies in identifying and prosecuting the southeastern region's most prolific firearm offenders, increasing federal impact on firearm and gang-related violent crime in Milwaukee, and enhancing proactive and preventative measures to reduce violent crime, such as prisoner reentry. As Civil Rights Coordinator, Chris works with the FBI and local law enforcement to identify federal civil rights violations, and he coordinates Wisconsin Together - a civil rights seminar to train the public on civil rights laws.

Prior to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chris was an Assistant District Attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office from 2008 - 2015.  Chris initially worked on a General Felony Unit, and in 2009, he transferred to the Community Prosecution Unit.  From 2009-2015, he worked as Milwaukee Police District Three Community Prosecutor and the Near West Side Community Prosecutor.  Chris collaborated on several proactive crime reduction initiatives involving violent drug and gun crime, prostitution and human trafficking, vacant property improvement, prisoner reentry, and large-scale neighborhood safety and development projects.  In 2012, Chris received the United States Department of Justice National Community Prosecution Innovative Community Engagement award for his work in Milwaukee's neighborhoods.  Chris and Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Wesson were also highlighted in the University of Wisconsin Law School's Gargoyle Magazine article, Smart on Crime: Revitalizing Milwaukee's Trouble Neighborhoods. 

In 2015, the District 3 Community Prosecution Unit was a finalist for the Herman Goldstein Problem Oriented Policing Award for its collaborative crime prevention work in Milwaukee's Washington Park neighborhood.  The work of the Community Prosecution Unit was also highlighted in the New Yorker article, The Milwaukee Experiment, and in the WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio show Precious Lives: Prosecutor Works with Landlords to Stabilize Neighborhoods. 

Chris graduated, With Distinction, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science.  He earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2007, where he graduated cum laude.  Additionally, during his law school career, Chris interned for Justice N. Patrick Crooks on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.