The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominations

Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to re-nominate:

Gary R. Brown of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.


Gary Brown serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, where he has served since his selection in 2011. Judge Brown also serves as an adjunct professor at St. John’s School of Law. In 2014, Judge Brown was selected by the Board of Judges to serve on the Committee of Magistrate Judges appointed to manage more than 1,400 Hurricane Sandy cases filed in the Eastern District of New York. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Brown served as the Director of Litigation and Chief Compliance Officer of CA Technologies. Before entering private practice, Judge Brown served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York for more than 15 years, concluding his service as the Chief of the Long Island Criminal Division. Judge Brown is also a three-time recipient of the Director’s Award from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and, in 2000, received the Federal Prosecutor’s Award from the National Law Enforcement Association. Upon

graduation from law school, Judge Brown served as a law clerk to Judge Jacob Mishler of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Brown earned his B.A. from Columbia College and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Stephanie A. Gallagher of Maryland, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.


Judge Stephanie Gallagher serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the District of Maryland. Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2011, Judge Gallagher was a partner and co-founder of Levin & Gallagher, LLC, where she practiced white-collar defense and civil and employment litigation. Before founding Levin & Gallagher, Judge Gallagher served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, where she prosecuted a wide range of violent and white-collar criminal cases. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Gallagher practiced for two years as a litigation associate in the Washington office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Gallagher served as a law clerk to Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Judge Gallagher earned her B.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law

School.

Diane Gujarati of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.


Diane Gujarati serves as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the past 19 years. Ms. Gujarati also served as an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law until earlier this year. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Gujarati practiced for three years as a litigation associate in the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP. Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Gujarati served as a law clerk to Judge John M. Walker, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Gujarati earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Barnard College of Columbia University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as an editor of both the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal on Regulation.

Lewis J. Liman of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.


Lewis Liman is a partner in the New York City office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP, where he has handled a wide range of civil, commercial, and white-collar criminal litigation since joining the firm in 2003. Before joining Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Mr. Liman was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Liman served for five years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he rose to serve as Deputy Chief of Appeals. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Liman spent a brief period as an attorney at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., before serving as a law clerk to Judge Pierre N. Leval of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit during his service as a U.S. District Judge on the Southern District of New York. Mr. Liman subsequently clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Liman earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from

Harvard College, his M.Sc., with distinction, from the London School of Economics, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an articles editor of the Yale Law Journal and as an editor of the Yale Journal of International Law.

Eric R. Komitee of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.


Eric Komitee is the General Counsel of Viking Global Investors LP in New York City. He previously served for eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, rising to serve as Chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Section. Before entering public service, Mr. Komitee practiced as an associate in the Government Enforcement and White Collar Crime group of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom, LLP, and as an associate in the corporate practice group of Cravath Swaine & Moore, LLP. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Komitee served as a law clerk to Judge J.L. Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Komitee earned his B.A., with high honors, from Emory University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D., cum laude, from the New York University School of Law, where he served as the senior notes and comments editor of the NYU Law Review.

Rachel P. Kovner of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.


Rachel Kovner serves as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Solicitor General’s Office within the Department of Justice, where she has represented the United States in litigation before the Supreme Court since 2013. Before joining the Solicitor General’s Office, Ms. Kovner served for four years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where she served as trial counsel in 10 felony trials and argued seven appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Kovner served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and then to the late Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. Kovner earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard College, and her J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she graduated first in her class, was inducted into the Order of the Coif, and served as the senior articles editor of the Stanford Law

Review.

Mary E. McElroy of Rhode Island, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.


Mary McElroy serves as the Public Defender for the State of Rhode Island. Prior to assuming this post in 2012, she served for six years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Rhode Island. Before joining the Rhode Island Federal Public Defender’s Office, Ms. McElroy served for 12 years as an Assistant Public Defender for the State of Rhode Island. Upon graduation from law school, Ms. McElroy served as a law clerk to Justice Donald F. Shea of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Ms. McElroy earned her B.A. from Providence College and her J.D., cum laude, from the Suffolk University School of Law.

Martha M. Pacold of Illinois, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.


Martha Pacold serves as Deputy General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. Prior to this appointment, she served as Executive Secretary at the agency. Before that, Ms. Pacold was an associate and then a partner in the Chicago office of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP. She also was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Earlier in her career, Ms. Pacold served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and as Counsel to the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Pacold served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States, to Judge Jay S. Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and to Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Ms. Pacold earned her B.A., with highest distinction, from Indiana University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago

Law School, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review.

Mary M. Rowland of Illinois, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.


Mary Rowland has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2012. Prior to her selection as a Federal magistrate judge, Judge Rowland spent 12 years as a partner in the Chicago firm of Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym, Ltd. Before entering private practice, Judge Rowland served for 10 years in the Chicago office of the Federal Defender Program; first as a staff attorney and later as the office’s chief appellate attorney. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Rowland served as a law clerk to Judge Julian Abele Cook, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Rowland earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Judge Rowland is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Bar Association.

Steven C. Seeger of Illinois, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.




Steve Seeger serves as Senior Trial Counsel in the Chicago Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he has litigated cases to enforce the Federal securities laws on behalf of the public since 2010. Before joining the SEC, Mr. Seeger practiced for 12 years in the Chicago, Illinois, office of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, where he spent his last seven years as a partner. Before joining Kirkland, Mr. Seeger served as a law clerk to Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Seeger earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Wheaton College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as both an associate and articles editor of the University of Michigan Law Review.

John L. Sinatra, Jr., of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.


John Sinatra is a partner in the Buffalo firm Hodgson Russ, LLP, where his practice has focused on complex civil and commercial litigation in Federal and State courts nationwide since 2008. Before joining the firm, Mr. Sinatra served as Senior Counsel in the Department of Commerce and as an associate in the commercial litigation practice group at Jones Day. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Sinatra served as a law clerk to the judges of the New York Court of Appeals. Mr. Sinatra earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, where he served as the notes and comments editor of the Buffalo Law Review.

Mary Kay Vyskocil of New York, to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.


Mary Kay Vyskocil serves as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York, where she has served since her selection in 2016. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Vyskocil practiced general commercial litigation for almost 33 years at the New York City-based law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP. During that period, Judge Vyskocil was ranked as one of the “Top Ten Women Litigators in the United States” by Benchmark Litigation and, in 2016, received a “Top Women in Law Award” from the New York Law Journal. During her time in practice, she was recognized as a litigation leader by Chambers, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and America’s Leading Business Lawyers, and Law360. She is also the co-author of Modern Reinsurance Law & Practice, 3d ed. (Thompson Reuters 2015). Judge Vyskocil earned her undergraduate degree from the Dominican College of Blauvelt in Rockland County, New York, where she was the class Valedictorian and Student Government President, and her J.D. from

St. John’s University School of Law, where she served on the Moot Court Executive Board.

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