Attorney General Miyares Announces Leadership Appointments

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares today announced several top leadership appointments within the Office of the Attorney General. 

“In any leadership role, you are only as effective as the team around you,” said Attorney General Miyares. “I am thankful for the incredible service that both Chuck Slemp and D.J. Jordan have provided to the OAG and the Commonwealth these past several years. Their invaluable contributions have strengthened our office throughout my tenure as Attorney General. I am also excited about the future and this next exciting chapter at the OAG. I’m thrilled to have Steven Popps, Erika Maley, Klarke Kilgore, Ryan Ferguson, and Thomas Sanford ascend to our agency’s new leadership positions.”

Effective June 1, Steven Popps will assume the role of Chief Deputy Attorney General after serving as Deputy Attorney General of the Civil Division since the beginning of Miyares’ term. He will succeed Chuck Slemp, who is joining a law firm in Richmond. Steven was previously a litigation partner with McGuireWoods LLP and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Henry E. Hudson, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and the William & Mary School of Law. 

Since March, Erika Maley has served as Solicitor General, succeeding Andrew Ferguson, who was confirmed as a Commissioner at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. She was promoted to Solicitor General after serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor General since the beginning of Miyares’ term. Erika was previously a partner in the Supreme Court and Appellate group at Sidley Austin LLP. She clerked for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court, after graduating from Duke University and Stanford University School of Law.  

Effective June 1, Klarke Kilgore will assume the role of Chief of Staff after serving as Chief of External Affairs since the beginning of Miyares’ term. He will succeed D.J. Jordan, who is joining a strategic public relations firm in Northern Virginia. Before that, he worked in the White House as an Associate Director in the Office of Political Affairs and Deputy Director of Appointments in the Presidential Personnel Office, and he worked in the Office of Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09). Klarke is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Effective June 1, Ryan Ferguson will assume the role of Director of Administration, supervising the Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, and Operations Departments of the Office of the Attorney General. Additionally, he will continue to serve as General Counsel, a role in which he has served since August 2022. Prior to joining the Miyares’ administration, Ryan served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Virginia Beach, he worked at Kaufman & Canoles, PC, and he was a litigation partner with Bischoff Martingayle, PC. Ryan is a graduate of James Madison University and Regent University School of Law.

Effective June 1, Thomas Sanford will assume the role of Deputy Attorney General of the Civil Division after serving as an Assistant Attorney General for the last two years. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, he worked as an attorney with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and as a litigation associate with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Thomas is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and the University of Virginia School of Law.

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