Diversity Progress on the Bench: US President Biden’s Judicial Nominees | Legility

US President Joe Biden’s diverse nominations reflect advances in the legal industry in including women, minorities and people from non-traditional backgrounds in leadership roles.

Read on for a quick rundown of who the nominees are and what you need to know.

Who are the new U.S. justice candidates?

Biden’s first eleven candidates for federal district and appeals courts marked a clear departure from former US President Donald Trump’s 221 judicial officers, who were predominantly white, relatively young, and male

In contrast, Biden has nominated nine women, including three black women, and two men to fill vacancies in court. If so confirmed, some of its nominees would mark historic novelties: the first Muslim woman to serve as federal district judge, the first Asian American woman to join the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the first woman of color to sat on the federal bank in Maryland, according to the White House. Nominees also bring a variety of legal experience, including public defense

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Nominated for: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia

Notable work experience: Former criminal defense attorney; former deputy federal defender; former legal advisor to the criminal commission

Tiffany Cunningham

Nominated for: U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

Current role: Partner at Perkins Coie LLP in Chicago

Expertise: Litigation and appointment advisor in complex patent and trade secret disputes

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi

Nominated for: Seventh US Court of Appeals

Current role: Partner at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington, DC

Expertise: Complex civil litigation, commercial criminal law and investigations

Notable work experience: Former Federal Defender Program attorney in the Northern District of Illinois

Deborah Boardman

Nominated for: US District Court for the Maryland District

Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Maryland

Notable work experience: Federal defender

Lydia Griggsby

Nominated for: US District Court for the Maryland District

Current role: Judge in the US Court of Federal Claims

Notable work experience: Chief Privacy and Information Policy Attorney and Privacy Advisor to Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont

Julien Neals

Nominated for: US District Court for the New Jersey District

Current role: County Counsel to the Acting County Administrator for Bergen County, New Jersey

Notable work experience: Former US attorney prosecuting murders, other violent crimes, organized crime, and drug trafficking and former assistant chief of appeals

Florence Y. Pan

Nominated for: US District Court for the District of Columbia

Current role: Associate Justice of the District of Columbia Supreme Court

Notable work experience: Former US attorney prosecuting murders, other violent crimes, organized crime, and drug trafficking and former assistant chief of appeals

Zahid N. Quraishi

Nominated for: US District Court for the New Jersey District

Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the New Jersey District

Notable work experience: U.S. Assistant Attorney and Attorney General for the U.S. District Court for the New Jersey District

Regina Rodriguez

Nominated for: U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Current role: Partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Denver

Expertise: Complex litigation and regulatory investigations

Margaret Strickland

Nominated for: U.S. District Court for the New Mexico District

Current role: Partner at McGraw & Strickland LLC in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Expertise: Civil rights and criminal defense cases in state and federal courts in New Mexico

Notable work experience: President of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association from 2017-2019

Rupa Ranga Puttagunta

Nominated for: District of Columbia Supreme Court

Current role: Administrative Judge for the DC Rental Housing Commission

Notable work experience: Needy criminal defense

Diversity, equity and inclusion are important in the judiciary

The 11 nominations are just the first in a row, filling 68 court openings, and another 26 that The New York Times predicts will become vacant later this year

If that first round of nominations sets the tone for the rest, Biden’s appointments could help fuel efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession.

Learn about the importance of diversity in the legal profession.

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