Tony Balkissoon is a Canadian civil rights attorney and the husband of Laura Jarrett, an NBC News and Today show legal correspondent and the daughter of Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Tony and Laura married on June 16, 2012, in a Chicago ceremony attended by President Obama and the First Family, an event that drew considerable attention given the guest list at what was otherwise a private wedding.
This article looks at what is known about Tony Balkissoon, from his career as a civil rights attorney to his family background and marriage to Laura Jarrett. It also traces Laura Jarrett’s own accomplished career as a legal journalist, since so much of the public interest in Tony comes from his connection to one of America’s most closely watched political and legal families. Readers interested in other family members connected to well known public figures may also want to read about Al Green’s first wife and Nelly’s former girlfriend.
Quick Bio Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Tony Balkissoon |
| Known For | Husband of NBC News correspondent Laura Jarrett |
| Wife | Laura Jarrett, legal correspondent |
| Married | June 16, 2012 |
| Occupation | Civil rights attorney |
| Education | Harvard Law School, University of Toronto |
His Career as a Civil Rights Attorney
Tony Balkissoon has built a career as a civil rights attorney, currently working as counsel at Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann and Freudenberger, a firm focused on civil rights litigation and wrongful conviction cases. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from the University of Toronto, later clerking for federal judges before entering private practice.
This substantial legal career, built on a foundation of elite legal education and federal clerkships, reflects a professional identity grounded in civil rights advocacy rather than the political and media careers more commonly associated with his wife’s family.
His Wedding to Laura Jarrett
Tony Balkissoon married Laura Jarrett on June 16, 2012, in a ceremony held at the Chicago home of Valerie Jarrett, Laura’s mother and senior advisor to President Obama. The wedding was attended by President Obama and the First Family, along with Attorney General Eric Holder and other prominent guests, drawing considerable media attention to what would otherwise have remained a private family celebration.
This significant and widely covered wedding, bringing together prominent guests from the highest levels of American government, illustrates the considerable public interest generated by Tony’s marriage into one of Washington’s most closely watched political families.
His Family Background in Canada
Tony Balkissoon is the son of Bas Balkissoon, a former Toronto city councillor and Ontario provincial legislator, and the brother of journalist Denise Balkissoon. This Canadian political and media family background gave Tony his own connection to public life well before his marriage to Laura Jarrett brought him into closer contact with American politics.
This family history, rooted in Toronto civic politics and journalism, illustrates that Tony’s own family carried public prominence within Canada well before his marriage connected him to the more widely recognized Jarrett and Obama political circles in the United States.
His Career as a Legal Clerk and Litigator
Before joining his current firm, Tony Balkissoon clerked for federal judges including Judge Manish Shah of the Northern District of Illinois and Judge Ann Claire Williams of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, gaining significant experience within the federal judicial system. This clerkship experience provided a strong foundation for his later work in civil rights and wrongful conviction litigation.
This substantial legal training, built through prestigious federal clerkships, illustrates the depth of Tony’s professional credentials within the legal field, a career built entirely independent of his wife’s prominent family connections.
His Family Life With Laura Jarrett
Tony Balkissoon and Laura Jarrett have two children together, a son born in 2019 and a daughter born in 2022, building a family life together in the years since their widely covered 2012 wedding. This growing family reflects the personal chapter that has developed alongside both of their respective careers in law and journalism.
This family life, built over more than a decade of marriage, illustrates how thoroughly Tony and Laura’s relationship has grown since their wedding first drew national media attention due to the prominent guests in attendance.
Laura Jarrett’s Career as a Legal Correspondent
Laura Jarrett built a significant career as a legal correspondent, first at CNN covering the Department of Justice and later at NBC News and the Today show, reporting on major legal and political stories. This substantial journalism career established her as one of the most recognizable legal correspondents in American television news.
This considerable career achievement, unfolding throughout the years of her marriage to Tony, illustrates the significant public profile Laura built as a journalist covering some of the most closely watched legal stories in recent American history.
Valerie Jarrett’s Role in the Obama Administration
Valerie Jarrett, Tony’s mother-in-law, served as senior advisor to President Barack Obama throughout his presidency, becoming one of the most influential and trusted figures within his administration. This significant political role placed Tony’s extended family at the center of one of the most consequential presidencies in recent American history.
This substantial political prominence, connecting Tony’s family by marriage to the highest levels of American government, illustrates why his 2012 wedding drew such considerable media attention despite Tony and Laura’s own preference for a more private family life.
Denise Balkissoon’s Career in Journalism
Tony’s sister, Denise Balkissoon, has built a significant career in Canadian journalism, working as Ontario bureau chief at The Narwhal and previously writing for major outlets including the Globe and Mail and Chatelaine. This accomplished journalism career reflects another dimension of the Balkissoon family’s public presence within Canadian media and civic life.
This additional family accomplishment within journalism illustrates the range of public facing careers built by members of Tony’s family, spanning politics, law, and media across different generations of the Balkissoon household. Together, these varied careers reflect a family with a consistent thread of civic engagement running through multiple professions.
Tony Balkissoon’s Focus on Wrongful Conviction Cases
Tony Balkissoon’s legal work has focused significantly on wrongful conviction litigation, representing clients seeking to overturn convictions based on new evidence or procedural failures within the criminal justice system. This specialized and demanding area of civil rights law reflects a career built around addressing serious failures within the justice system rather than the more visible political work associated with his wife’s family.
This significant legal specialization illustrates the depth of Tony’s commitment to civil rights work, a career path built on rigorous legal advocacy rather than the political prominence more commonly associated with the Jarrett and Obama circles he became connected to through marriage, and one that has earned him respect within the civil rights legal community in its own right, separate from any recognition tied to his wife’s family connections, a distinction that colleagues within his field have reportedly come to appreciate about his work over the course of his legal career, built through years of dedicated advocacy on behalf of his clients within the wrongful conviction legal community across multiple states and jurisdictions throughout the United States.
Why People Still Search for His Name
Interest in Tony Balkissoon comes almost entirely from those researching the extended Obama and Jarrett political circle, particularly following the widely covered 2012 wedding attended by President Obama himself. Because Valerie Jarrett remains a significant and widely discussed figure in American politics, questions about her extended family, including her son-in-law, continue to surface among those researching the complete Jarrett family history.
Because Tony has built an independent legal career rather than pursuing political or media visibility of his own, most of what people can find about him traces back to his prominent 2012 wedding rather than to any extensive public profile of his own making.
Bas Balkissoon’s Political Career in Toronto
Tony’s father, Bas Balkissoon, served as a Toronto city councillor and later as a member of the Ontario provincial legislature representing the Liberal Party, building a lengthy career in Canadian civic and provincial politics. This significant political career gave Tony his own early exposure to public life and civic service well before his marriage to Laura Jarrett connected him to American politics.
This substantial political background within Tony’s own family illustrates that public service was already a significant part of his upbringing, offering an interesting parallel to the political prominence he would later encounter through his marriage into the Jarrett family.
The Wedding’s Coverage in Legal and Political Media
Tony and Laura’s 2012 wedding drew coverage not only from mainstream news outlets but also from legal industry publications such as the ABA Journal, which covered the event from the perspective of the legal profession given both families’ connections to law and government. This unusual level of cross industry media attention reflects the considerable interest generated by a wedding combining prominent legal, political, and journalism careers.
This wide ranging media coverage, spanning both political and legal industry publications, illustrates just how significant Tony and Laura’s wedding became as a media event, extending attention well beyond typical coverage of a private family celebration.
The Broader Interest in Political Families’ Extended Relatives
Public curiosity about the extended families of major political figures is a common pattern within American media, with researchers often tracing family connections across multiple generations once a family becomes prominent in national politics. This interest reflects a broader fascination with how the private lives of relatives unfold alongside a family member’s significant public role.
This general pattern of interest helps explain why Tony Balkissoon’s name continues to surface among those researching the extended Jarrett and Obama political circle, even though his own career in civil rights law has remained entirely separate from politics.
Tony Balkissoon’s Approach to Legal Practice
Colleagues and observers have described Tony Balkissoon’s approach to civil rights litigation as thorough and deeply committed, reflecting the kind of dedication often required in wrongful conviction cases that can take years to resolve. This meticulous approach to his legal work illustrates the significant personal investment required in the specialized area of law he has chosen to practice.
This dedicated professional approach, sustained across a demanding legal specialty, further illustrates how Tony has built a respected legal career grounded in patient, long term advocacy rather than the kind of high visibility work often associated with political families.
Conclusion
Tony Balkissoon is a civil rights attorney and the husband of NBC News legal correspondent Laura Jarrett, having married her in a 2012 Chicago ceremony attended by President Obama and the First Family. His own story includes a substantial legal career built on his Harvard Law School education and federal clerkships, distinct from the political prominence associated with his wife’s family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tony Balkissoon?
Tony Balkissoon is a civil rights attorney and the husband of NBC News correspondent Laura Jarrett.
When did Tony Balkissoon marry Laura Jarrett?
They married on June 16, 2012, in Chicago.
Who is Tony Balkissoon’s mother-in-law?
His mother-in-law is Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama.
What does Tony Balkissoon do for work?
He works as a civil rights attorney focused on wrongful conviction litigation.
Do Tony Balkissoon and Laura Jarrett have children?
Yes. They have two children, a son born in 2019 and a daughter born in 2022.
