Topic: Lawrence Walsh

Lawrence Edward Walsh (born January 8, 1912) is an American lawyer and former judge and Deputy Attorney General who was appointed Independent Counsel in December 1986 to investigate the Iran-Contra affair during the Reagan Administration.

Walsh was born in Port Maitland, Nova Scotia, Canada, the grandson of a sea captain, and the son of a family doctor. Walsh grew up in Queens, New York, and attended Flushing High School.

Walsh received an A.B. from Columbia University in 1932 and an LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1935. After graduating from law school, he served a varied career in public life, including as special assistant attorney general of Drukman Investigation from 1936 to 1938 and as a deputy assistant district attorney of New York County from 1938 to 1941. After a period in private practice of law in New York City from 1941 to 1943, he served as assistant counsel to New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey from 1943 to 1949 and as Counsel to the Governor from 1950 to 1951. He was a Counsel for the Public Service Commission from 1951 to 1953, and the general counsel and Executive Director of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor from 1953 to 1954.