Department of State. As a regional lawyer for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, she handles myriad legal issues concerning the U.S.'s relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan. She has also served in L's Offices for Management and Consular Affairs. Prior to joining the Department, she worked for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on consumer protection issues as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel, as Attorney Advisor to Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour, and as an international consultant, based in London. Ms. Patton has served as Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and as a corporate associate in the New York office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal (now Dentons). She earned a Juris Doctorate at New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.