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Being a federal judge is a dream job for many lawyers. Why would anyone want to leave it behind?
And yet that’s what several high-profile, highly regarded judges have been doing in recent months. One of them is Gary Feinerman, who stepped down as a judge of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois at the end of last year, then joined the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins just last month.
Why on earth did Judge Feinerman leave the bench? I asked him that and much more—including what it was like to clerk for Justice Kennedy alongside two future Supreme Court justices, how he became a federal judge, how he funneled his clerks into SCOTUS clerkships as a “feeder judge,” and what type of practice he plans to build at Latham & Watkins—in this latest episode of the Original Jurisdiction podcast.
Show Notes:
Gary Feinerman bio, Latham & Watkins LLP
Latham Enhances Litigation Practice in Chicago; Welcomes Former Federal District Judge and State Solicitor General, Latham & Watkins LLP
On The Retirement Of Miles Ruthberg And The Rise Of Litigation At Latham & Watkins, by David Lat for Above the Law
Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.
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