Carol Lam was nominated by President Bush on August 1, 2002, to be the US Attorney for the Southern District of California.  Prior to her appointment, she enjoyed a successful prosecutorial career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California (1986 - 1997) and as Chief of the Major Frauds Section (1997 - 2000).   She won several high-profile convictions and decisions, and rose to serve as a judge of the Superior Court in San Diego.

Lam is perhaps better known than most of the dismissed US Attorneys, due to her prosecution of high-profile public officials.  In 2005 Lam's office began investigating Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) for bribery and corruption in connection with a defense contractor.  She secured a guilty plea from him in November 2005, but that the investigation did not end with Cunningham's resignation and incarceration.  In May 2006 the probe expanded to include Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who resigned as Executive Director of the CIA, and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), then the Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Her name appeared on the list of US Attorneys to be fired, and on December 7, 2006, she was dismissed.  The Justice Department maintains that she was let go because of low numbers of immigration prosecutions.