The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (“Commission”) has recommended to the President the names of the three attorneys listed below for his consideration in selecting a nominee to fill the judicial vacancy on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals created by the resignation of the Honorable Loren L. AliKhan. The President has sixty (60) days to select a nominee to fill this vacancy.
The Commission recommends the following candidates to fill Judge AliKhan’s vacancy:
Megan D. Browder, Esq., is the Deputy Attorney General of the Legal Counsel Division in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. In this role, she provides legal advice to all District entities, including the Mayor, the D.C. Council, the Attorney General, agencies, boards, and commissions on time-sensitive and complex issues of District law. Before being appointed Deputy Attorney General, Ms. Browder worked as the Senior Counsel to the Attorney General, advising the Attorney General and the Chief Deputy Attorney General on various legal matters. Before that, Ms. Browder worked in the District’s Office of the Solicitor General, briefing and arguing cases related to the constitutionality of District legislation, employment disputes, the District's Administrative Procedure Act, municipal liability, and separation of powers. Ms. Browder is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University Law Center.
Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Ms. Browder was a litigator at Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner (now Kramer Levin), and Arnold & Porter, where she handled numerous bankruptcy, criminal, and constitutional matters.
Ms. Browder earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Allyson K. Duncan on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Honorable James E. Boasberg on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Carmen Iguina González, Esq., Counsel at Kaplan Hecker & Fink and Co-Director of the Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic, specializes in appellate and complex civil litigation, with extensive experience in administrative, constitutional, and civil rights law.
Before joining Kaplan Hecker & Fink, Ms. Iguina González, was a Senior Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Immigrants Rights Project, where she led civil rights litigation and fought for the due process rights of immigrant communities. Before joining the ACLU, Ms. Iguina González, was an associate at Jones Day, handling complex civil, criminal, and administrative cases and maintaining substantial pro bono docket. She was also a Staff Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow at the ACLU of Southern California.
Ms. Iguina González, earned her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Kiyo A. Matsumoto on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York,t he Honorable Stephen R. Reinhardt on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Joseph R. Palmore, Esq., is a partner at Morrison Foerster and co-chair of the Appellate Supreme Court Group. He also chairs the firm's Pro Bono Committee and served as the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office for six years.
Before joining Morrison Foerster, Mr. Palmore served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice, where he represented the United States before the Supreme Court. He was part of the team that defended the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, culminating in NFIB v. Sebelius. For his work on that litigation, he received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the Department of Justice's highest honor for employee performance. Mr. Palmore was previously Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, overseeing the FCC federal appellate litigation.
Mr. Palmore earned his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, his Master of Arts in Legal History from the University of Virginia, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Dennis Jacobs on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Honorable John Gleeson on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
Please direct any questions to the Commission’s Executive Director at (202) 879-0478 or [email protected].
Members of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission
The Honorable Marie C. Johns
PPC-Leftwich
1400 K Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005-2403
(202) 434-9124
[email protected]
Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
7825 Orchid Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 657-2534
[email protected]
Addy R. Schmitt, Esq.
Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP
1775 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 650
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 617-5791
[email protected]
Vincent H. Cohen, Jr., Esq.
Dechert LLP
1900 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-1110
(202) 261-3432
[email protected]
Yaida O. Ford, Esq.
Ford Law Pros P.C.
1001 L Street, SE
Washington, DC, 20003
(202) 792-4946
[email protected]
The Honorable Linda W. Cropp
4001 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
(202) 726-0505
[email protected]
The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan
United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 354-3390
[email protected]