Holly Ann Winkeljohn Brady (born August 14, 1969) is the Chief United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (in case citations, N.D. Ind.) was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and southern. As part of the act, the Northern Distr ...

Biography

Brady earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Indiana University at Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest campu ...

and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the Valparaiso University School of Law."President Donald J. Trump Announces Twelfth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Twelfth Wave of United States Attorneys, and Sixth Wave of United States Marshals" White House, April 10, 2018

Career

After graduating from law school, Brady worked as an associate in the

labor law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

firm of Gallucci, Hopkins & Theisen from 1994 to 1998. The firm merged with

Barnes & Thornburg Barnes & Thornburg LLP is a U.S. law firm and lobbying group with 20 offices located in the United States. It is currently the largest law firm in the state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is th ...

in 1998, and she continued on with that firm's labor and employment litigation section until 2002. From 2002 to 2007, she was a member at Theisen, Bowers, & Brady in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. From 2007 to 2019, when she became a district judge, Brady was a member in the Fort Wayne law firm of Haller & Colvin, where she focused her practice on civil, employment, and labor litigation. She was president of the firm from 2012 to 2018.

Federal judicial service

On April 10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

nominated Brady to serve as a United States District Judge of the

. She was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge

Joseph S. Van Bokkelen Joseph S. Van Bokkelen (born June 7, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Education and career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Van Bokkelen received a Bachelor of Ar ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on September 29, 2017. On June 6, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On June 28, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Brady for a federal judgeship. Her nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On April 10, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 56–43 vote. Later that day, she was confirmed by a 56–42 vote. She received her judicial commission on April 16, 2019. She became chief judge on July 17, 2023.

Recognition

Each year since 2013, Brady has been recognized in ''The Best Lawyers in America'' for labor and employment law. She is involved in numerous community organizations and has served on the Northern District of Indiana Federal Community Defenders Board of Directors and as Vice President of the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Holly Ann 1969 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Indiana lawyers Indiana University Bloomington alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana People from Fort Wayne, Indiana United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump Valparaiso University School of Law alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges