Obama Nominates Stanford Alumna to Serve on Ninth Circuit

WASHINGTON, DC – Thursday, President Barack Obama nominated Michelle T. Friedland, Justice Nancy L. Moritz and John B. Owens for seats on the United States Courts of Appeals.

"Michelle T. Friedland, Justice Nancy L. Moritz and John B. Owens will bring an unwavering commitment to fairness and judicial integrity to the federal bench," Obama said. "Their impressive legal careers are testaments to the kind of thoughtful and diligent judges they will be on the Ninth and Tenth Circuits. I am honored to nominate them today."

Michelle T. Friedland: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Michelle T. Friedland is a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.  She has extensive litigation experience at the state and federal trial court and appellate levels, including litigating before the United States Supreme Court.

Friedland was born in Berkeley, California.  She received her undergraduate degree with honors in 1995 from Stanford University, then studied at Oxford University on a Fulbright Scholarship, and then attended Stanford Law School, where she graduated second in her class in 2000.  After graduating from law school, Friedland clerked for Judge David Tatel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court.  Next, Friedland completed a two-year lectureship at Stanford Law School, before she joined Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP as an associate in 2004.  She became a partner with the firm in January 2010.    

During her legal career, Friedland has represented a number of corporate clients in cases involving a wide range of legal issues, including antitrust, tax, patent, copyright, and consumer class actions.  She also has frequently represented the University of California in cases involving constitutional issues.  She maintains an active pro bono practice, for which the State Bar of California recently named her a recipient of the 2013 President’s Pro Bono Service Award. Friedland also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia Law School, teaching a course on constitutional issues in higher education.