Tana Lin (born September 15, 1966)
is a
Taiwanese-American lawyer from
Washington who is a
United States district judge of the
.
Early life and education
Lin was born in
Taipei and moved to the United States as a child. She lived in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
, while her father was a graduate student at the
University of Kansas before the family eventually settled in
Chicago.
She received her
Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, from
Cornell University in 1988 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
New York University School of Law in 1991.
["President Biden Announces Second Slate of Judicial Nominees", White House, April 29, 2021](_blank)
Career
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
Keller Rohrback is an American plaintiffs' law firm. Founded in 1919, the firm is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with additional offices in Portland, Denver, Oakland, New York, Phoenix, Missoula, and Santa Barbara.
Tana Lin was of counse ...
, first as an
associate from 2004 to 2007, as a
partner from 2008 to 2019, and as
of counsel from 2020 to 2021.
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.
Federal judicial service
On April 29, 2021, President
Joe Biden nominated Lin to serve as a
United States district judge for the
to the seat vacated by Judge
Marsha J. Pechman
Marsha J. Pechman (born 1951) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Education and career
Born in Salem, Oregon, Pechman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornel ...
, who assumed
senior status on February 6, 2016. On June 9, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the
Senate Judiciary Committee. On July 15, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote, with Senator
Lindsey Graham passed on the vote. On October 21, 2021, the
United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–47 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–45 vote. She received her commission on November 23, 2021. She was sworn in on December 8, 2021. Lin became the district's first Asian American
Article III judge
Federal tribunals in the United States are those tribunals established by the federal government of the United States for the purpose of resolving disputes involving or arising under federal laws, including questions about the constitutionality ...
.
See also
*
List of Asian American jurists
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Tara
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