Transitions: Graber to Senior Status

 Law360 reports that 9th Circuit Judge Susan Graber will go senior in Biden Gets 1st Opening on 9th Circ. Thanks to Judge Graber.

"It has been an honor and a delight to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for 23 years," the judge told Biden in a letter. "I intend to continue hearing cases as a senior judge and doing what I can to uphold the rule of law and the pursuit of justice."

The opening gives Biden his first opportunity to shape the Ninth Circuit, whose historical reputation for a liberal bent has diminished in recent years, especially thanks to President Donald Trump's 10 appointees. More openings are expected soon among the nine Clinton appointees still in active status on the 29-member court.

• Appellate experts told Law360 that a leading candidate to succeed Judge Graber would be Oregon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson, a progressive favorite whose 2018 appointment made her the state's first-ever Black appellate jurist.

Judge Graber, who had been eligible for senior status since about 2014, is the sixth circuit judge to announce retirement plans since Biden's inauguration. He took office with just two appellate openings, but now has eight current or planned vacancies — one each on the D.C., First, Seventh and Ninth circuits and two each on the Second and Tenth circuits.

Also of note in The Recorder: San Francisco City In-House Attorney Joints Akin Gump's Supreme Court and Appellate Group:

"While working in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, Aileen McGrath represented the city in lawsuits against the federal government that sought to stop federal funding to sanctuary cities."

She "will start her role as senior counsel Feb. 16," based in S.F. 

"After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2007, McGrath went on to serve as a law clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [Judge Michael Boudin] and the U.S. Supreme Court [Justice Breyer]." "In 2012, McGrath became deputy city attorney for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, and most recently served as the city’s co-chief of appellate litigation. She has also served as a staff attorney to California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar." "There are 16 attorneys in the appellate practice at Akin Gump. Shah said fewer than 10 of them work for in the group full-time."

See also Law360's Akin Gump Taps San Francisco City Atty for Appellate Team

Bloomberg Law reports Orrick's Corkran Joins Georgetown Law from SCOTUS Practice about the former heard of Orrick's Supreme Court practice, Kelsi Corkran (a former RBG clerk), returning to public service work as a pro bono senior fellow at GTown Law Center's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. “What I was doing at Orrick was largely monitoring what was going on in the courts of appeals and identifying cases that would be good candidates for the Supreme Court, so I hope to do that” at Georgetown as a fellow, Corkran said. Law360's article is here.