Debra "Deb" Ireland

Interim Director, Delta Institute for AI & the Law; Adjunct Professor

Email: direland@memphis.edu |  Law School, Office 363

• CV

About Professor Ireland

Ireland joined the faculty as an adjunct professor in 2026 after a twenty-year career as a federal and state prosecutor.  She teaches Cyberlaw and Policy and National Security.  Most recently, Ireland was a trial attorney at the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property section of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C.  Working with case teams around the country, Ireland prosecuted cases involving ransomware, botnets, intrusions, and cyber-facilitated fraud.  She was part of the international team that disabled a notorious ransomware group in 2024.  As a trial attorney, Ireland also trained prosecutors and investigators on best practices for the use of electronic evidence in court.  She has also conducted training on electronic evidence and intellectual property matters to international audiences, including in Mexico City, Ghana, Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Zambia, and Tanzania.  Prior to federal practice, Ireland focused on domestic violence and child sexual abuse cases in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Ireland is a member of the Board of Directors for the Memphis-Midsouth Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. 

Prior to becoming an attorney, Ireland worked in broadcasting.  Among other roles, she co-hosted morning radio programs in Pennsylvania and in San Antonio, Texas, and provided professional voice-over services for advertising and promotional productions.

Education

J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas; B.A., Communication Arts, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania

Admitted

Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania; Western District of Tennessee; United States Supreme Court.

Experience

2022-2025, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Criminal Division, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property SEction; 2010-2022, Assistant United States Attorney, Western District of Tennessee, Memphis Division, Coordinator Project Safe Childhood Section and Computer, High Tech, and Intellectual Property prosecutor; 2008-2010, Prosecutor, Chester County (Pennsylvania), District Attorney's Office; 2004-2010, Prosecutor, Bexar County District Attorney's Office, San Antonio, Texas, Family Justice/Victim Protection Unit.

Teaching Interests

Internet Law and Policy, National Security, trial skills

Selected Presentations & Publications

• Effectively Engaging with Victim Companies in Intellectual Property Cases, Anand Patel, Debra Ireland, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JOURNAL OF FEDERAL LAW AND PRACTICE, CYBERLAW: THREATS AND SOLUTIONS, Volume 73, Number 1, March 2025.
• The Price of Education: What Local Control is Costing American Children, THE Q SCHOLAR, ST. MARY’S LAW REVIEW ON MINORITY ISSUES, Spring 2004.
• Department of Justice, International Computer and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) training for prosecutors and investigators on prevention of intellectual property crimes related to microprocessor technology, Mexico City, Mexico
• ICHIP training for law enforement, investigating intellectual property crimes, Budapest, Hungary
  2022U.S. Patent and Trademark Office intellectual property crime training for judiciary and attorneys, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• ICHIP training for prosecutors, electronic evidence, Dar es Salam, Tanzania
• ICHIP training for prosecutors, electronic evidence, Livingstone, Zambia
• Department of Justice’s Office of Prosecutorial Development and Training, electronic evidence for prosecutors and investigators, Accra, Ghana