Lucy Koh ’93 nominated to serve as federal district court judge

Lucy Koh ’93 was nominated by President Obama on Jan. 20 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. If she is confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first Korean-American federal district court judge.

Appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Koh has served as a judge for the Santa Clara County Superior Court for the past year. Prior to this appointment, she was a partner at McDermott, Will and Emery in Palo Alto and earlier a senior associate at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. After law school, she served as special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice and from 1996 to 1997 as a special assistant to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General, in Washington, D.C. Before entering private practice, Koh spent three years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the major frauds section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.

In addition to her J.D. from Harvard Law School, she also earned her A.B. from Harvard University.