Fill-in is 1st woman in top law job

ALBANY — The woman who will temporarily replace Eric Schneiderman as state attorney general is a highly experienced professional lawyer who has argued 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Barbara Underwood was sworn in as acting attorney general after Schneiderman, who is accused of abusing four women, resigned his office at close of business Tuesday.

She is the first woman to head the office.

She takes over with a slew of ongoing cases, including dozens against the Trump administration as well as one sought by Gov. Cuomo into Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.'s handling of a sexual misconduct probe into former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

“I am honored to serve the people of New York as acting attorney general,” Underwood (photo) said in a statement that appeared aimed at calming concerns the office would tone down down its aggressive work.

“The work of this office is critically important,” Underwood said. “Our office has never been stronger, and this extraordinarily talented, dedicated and tireless team of public servants will ensure that our work continues without interruption.”

Underwood, 73, has been the state solicitor general since 2007 when she was appointed by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. As solicitor general, she represented the state in appeals cases.

Schneiderman kept her on when he won election as attorney general in 2010, the same time Cuomo was elected governor.

“She’s an extraordinarily competent woman, so I have no fear in the immediate she will provide good stewardship in the office,” Cuomo told reporters Tuesday.

“She’s a total professional.”

Before working for the state, Underwood taught at Yale Law School and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall .

City Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter called Underwood “a brilliant lawyer who has devoted her professional life to serving the criminal justice system.”

An Indiana native, Underwood was raised in New Jersey and got her undergraduate degree from Harvard University’s Radcliffe College. She received her law degree from Georgetown.

After clerking for Marshall, Underwood taught at Yale for 10 years and then Brooklyn Law School and New York University School of Law.

During her career, she also worked for several district attorney’s offices in New York City, and served as counsel and chief assistant in the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office.

From 1998 to 2001, she was the acting U.S. solicitor general and principal U.S. deputy solicitor general.