U.S. Attorney Debra Yang resigns

Debra Wong Yang is leaving her post as U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles to join the L.A. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Yang has made white collar crime a priority, including the indictment earlier this year of law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad and Schulman. Her office also handled the case against Ralphs, in which the supermarket chain pleaded guilty to five counts that include conspiracy, identity fraud and falsifying information to the IRS and Social Security Administration. Prior to her appointment by President Bush in 2002, Yang was a California state judge. At Gibson Dunn, she will co-chair the firm's crisis management group, which is currently handling internal investigations for companies involved in the stock options backdating scandal.