Tristram Coffin, the U.S. Attorney for the district of Vermont, said he is resigning next month to take a job in private practice.
"I'm going to be reluctantly stepping down and taking on another job beginning Jan. 12," he said. "It's an excellent opportunity, but I will be leaving this job feeling it's been an amazing time here. We've got such an incredible office here and terrific people."
Coffin took the job in August 2009 as one of President Barack Obama's first nominations for U.S. Attorneys across the nation. He was a line prosecutor in the office for 12 years prior to his appointment, and said he is especially proud of his time as the top federal prosecutor in the state.
"I think the work our office has done to combat opiate addiction and trafficking has been really significant, and I'm really proud of the work our people have done on that, both on the law enforcement side and also trying to take a little broader look at the problem and say that we really need to beef up our prevention efforts and our treatment efforts as well," he said.
Coffin said he was glad to have been able to spend time traveling around the state and speaking at high schools about the risks of opiates.
Another change under Coffin's watch was part of a larger national shift that gave prosecutors and judges more discretion on sentencing.
"We had a much more one-size-fits-all approach to charging and sentencing," he said. "And a lot of times that ended up with people getting inordinately long sentences that were both incredibly costly for the taxpayer, but would also end up with those people being less able to get back on their feet and get back to being productive citizens."
Coffin will be replaced in the short-term by his top deputy, Eugenia Cowles, the first woman to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Vermont. Sen. Patrick Leahy and President Obama will work to name a permanent successor next year.
Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, Coffin's boss for his entire tenure, thanked the Vermonter for his service in a statement Friday.
"Tris Coffine personifies the high standards of integrity and professional excellence that define the very best of this country's public servants," he said. "I will always be grateful for his years of distinguished service. Although I will miss his leadership and wisdom, I thank him for his tireless work and wish him all the best in the next step of his remarkable career."
Coffin will take a job a Downs Rachlin Martin, according to Robert Luce, an attorney at the Vermont law firm.
Coffin said he will be "doing general civil litigation practice and also some litigation in issues that are related to government regulatory and enforcement-related work in particular."
