Tana Lin
Tana Lin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington | |
| Assumed office November 23, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Marsha J. Pechman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 15, 1966 Taipei, Taiwan |
| Education | Cornell University (BA) New York University (JD) |
Tana Lin (born September 15, 1966)[1] is a Taiwanese-American lawyer who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. She is the first Taiwanese American woman to serve on the district court.
Early life and education
[edit]Lin was born in Taipei and moved to the United States as a child. She lived in Lawrence, Kansas, while her father was a graduate student at the University of Kansas before the family eventually settled in Chicago.[2] She received her Bachelor of Arts with distinction from Cornell University in 1988 and her Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1991.[3]
Career
[edit]Lin began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. From 1995 to 1999, she was an attorney with the United States Department of Justice Employment Litigation Section. From 1999 to 2001, she was a senior trial attorney at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Chicago district office. From 2001 to 2004, she was the litigation coordinator at the Michigan Poverty Law Program. From 2004 to 2021, she was with Keller Rohrback, first as an associate from 2004 to 2007, as a partner from 2008 to 2019, and as of counsel from 2020 to 2021.[3]
Lin served on the board of directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington from 2016 to 2021 and as the board's president 2019 to 2021.[4]
Federal judicial service
[edit]On April 29, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Lin to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to the seat vacated by Judge Marsha J. Pechman, who assumed senior status on February 6, 2016.[5] On June 9, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On July 15, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote, with Senator Lindsey Graham passed on the vote.[7][8] On October 21, 2021, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–47 vote.[9] Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–45 vote.[10] She received her commission on November 23, 2021.[11] She was sworn in on December 8, 2021.[12] Lin became the district's first Asian American Article III judge.[13][14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Tana Lin Profile". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- ^ "Tana Lin - Washington Lawyers - Finding Her Voice". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
- ^ a b "President Biden Announces Second Slate of Judicial Nominees", White House, April 29, 2021
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Biden Looks Beyond BigLaw For Court Openings In NJ, Wash. - Law360". www.law360.com. April 29, 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 29, 2021
- ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for June 9, 2021
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – July 15, 2021" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee. July 15, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate of Circuit & District Court Nominations" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Senate Judiciary Committee. July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Tana Lin to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington )". United States Senate. October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Tana Lin, of Washington, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington)". United States Senate. October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ Tana Lin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ "THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON WELCOMES DISTRICT JUDGE TANA LIN" (PDF). wawd.uscourts.gov. December 10, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ "Senate Confirms New Judge for U.S. District Court for Western District of Washington" (PDF). Public Information Office. United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- ^ "Attorney Tana Lin is now the first Asian American U.S. judge in Washington state". NBC News. October 22, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Tana Lin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1966 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American women lawyers
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century American women lawyers
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American women judges
- American jurists of Taiwanese descent
- Cornell University alumni
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- New York University School of Law alumni
- People from Taipei
- Public defenders
- Seattle University faculty
- Taiwanese emigrants to the United States
- United States Department of Justice lawyers
- United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden
- Washington (state) lawyers