Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Judges of the Federal Circuit

Paul R. Michel
Pauline Newman
Haldane Robert Mayer
Alan D. Lourie
Raymond C. Clevenger, III
Randall R. Rader
Alvin A. Schall
William Curtis Bryson
Arthur J. Gajarsa
Richard Linn
Timothy B. Dyk
Sharon Prost

Senior Judges Daniel M. Friedman
Glen Leroy Archer, Jr.
S.Jay Plager

Inactive Senior Judges Wilson Cowen
Paul R. Michel
Became Chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 25, 2004; born February 3, 1941, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Lincoln M. and Dorothy (Kelley) Michel; educated in public schools in Wayne and Radnor, PA; B.A., Williams College, 1963, J.D., University of Virginia Law School, 1966; married Brooke England, 2004; adult children, Sarah Elizabeth and Margaret Kelley; Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Reserve (1966-72); admitted to practice: Pennsylvania (1967), U.S. district court (1968), U.S. circuit court (1969), and U.S. Supreme Court (1969); assistant district attorney, Philadelphia, PA (1967-71); Deputy District Attorney for Investigations (1972-74); Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor (1974-75); assistant counsel, Senate Intelligence Committee (1975-76); deputy chief, Public Integrity Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice (1976-78); “Koreagate” prosecutor (1976-78); Associate Deputy Attorney General (1978-81); Acting Deputy Attorney General (Dec. 1979-Feb. 1980); counsel and administrative assistant to Senator Arlen Specter (1981-88); nominated December 19, 1987 by President Ronald Reagan to be circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, confirmed by Senate on February 29, 1988, and assumed duties of the office on March 8, 1988.

Pauline Newman
Circuit judge; born June 20, 1927, in New York, NY; daughter of Maxwell H. and Rosella G. Newman; B.A. degree from Vassar College in 1947; M.A. in pure science from Columbia University in 1948; Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Yale University in 1952; LL.B. degree from New York University School of Law in 1958; admitted to the New York bar in 1958 and to the Pennsylvania bar in 1979; worked as research scientist for the American Cyanamid Co. from 1951–54; worked for the FMC Corp. from 1954–84 as patent attorney and house counsel and, since 1969, as director of the Patent, Trademark, and Licensing Department; on leave from FMC Corp. worked for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a science policy specialist in the Department of Natural Sciences, 1961–62; offices in scientific and professional organizations include: member of Council of the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Section of the American Bar Association, 1982–84; board of directors of the American Patent Law Association, 1981–84; vice president of the United States Trademark Association, 1978–79, and member of the board of directors, 1975–76, 1977–79; board of governors of the New York Patent Law Association, 1970–74; president of the Pacific Industrial Property Association, 1978–80; executive committee of the International Patent and Trademark Association, 1982–84; board of directors: the American Chemical Society, 1973–75, 1976–78, 1979–81; American Institute of Chemists, 1960–66, 1970–76; member: board of trustees of Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, 1983–84; patent policy board of State University of New York, 1983–84; national board of Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1975–84; board of directors of Research Corp., 1982–84; governmental committees include: State Department Advisory Committee on International Intellectual Property, 1974-84; advisory committee to the Domestic Policy Review of Industrial Innovation, 1978-79; special advisory committee on Patent Office Procedure and Practice, 1972-74; member of the U.S. Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1982-84; awarded Wilbur Cross Medal of Yale University Graduate School, 1989, the Jefferson Medal of the New Jersey Patent Law Association, 1988, and the Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Intellectual Property Field of the Pacific Industrial Property Association, 1987; Vanderbilt Medal of New York University School of Law, 1995; Vasser College Distinguished Achievement Award, 2002; Distinguished Professor of Law, George Mason University (adjunct faculty); Council on Foreign Relations; appointed judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President Reagan and entered upon duties of that office on May 7, 1984.

Haldane Robert Mayer
Circuit Judge Mayer has been a member of the Court since June 19, 1987. Born in Buffalo, New York, on February 21, 1941, Mayer is the son of Myrtle (Gaude) Mayer of Lockport, New York, and the late Haldane R. Mayer. He was educated in the public schools of Lockport, New York, before attending the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, from 1959 until he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963. His law degree was earned in 1971 at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, The College of William and Mary, where he was editor-in-chief of the William and Mary Law Review as well as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa. He is a director of the William and Mary Law School Association. Judge Mayer is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia .

Judge Mayer served on active duty in the Army of the United States from 1963 until 1975 in the Infantry and the Judge Advocate General’s Corps; he has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Ranger Combat Badge, and several Campaign and Service Ribbons. He resigned his Regular Army commission to take an Army Reserve commission, retiring in 1985 as a lieutenant colonel.

In 1971 and 1972, Judge Mayer clerked for Circuit Judge John D. Butzner, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He practiced law with McGuire, Woods & Battle in Charlottesville, Virginia, from 1975 through 1977, simultaneously serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, as he did again from 1992 until 1994. He has also been an adjunct professor at George Washington University National Law Center.

From 1977 through 1980, he was the Special Assistant to the Chief Justice of the United States, Warren E. Burger. After that he returned to private practice with Baker and McKenzie in Washington, D.C., until he became deputy and Acting Special Counsel (by designation of the President) of the Merit Systems Protection Board.

President Ronald Reagan appointed Judge Mayer to what is now the United States Court of Federal Claims in 1982, and to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1987. Since 1988 the Chief Justice of the United States has appointed Judge Mayer to serve on the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on the International Appellate Judges Conference and, until 1997, on the Committee on Judicial Resources. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1997 to 2004. Judge Mayer became the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 25, 1997, and relinquished that position on December 24, 2004, after having held that position for seven years.

Judge Mayer is married to the former Mary Anne McCurdy, who is a teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, and they have two daughters, Anne Christian and Rebecca Paige.
Alan D. Lourie
Circuit judge; born January 13, 1935, in Boston, MA; son of Joseph and Rose Lourie; educated in public schools in Brookline, MA; A.B., Harvard University, (1956); M.S., University of Wisconsin, (1958); Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, (1965); and J.D., Temple University, (1970); married to the former L. Elizabeth D. Schwartz; children, Deborah L. Rapoport and Linda S. Lourie; employed at Monsanto Company (chemist, 1957–59); Wyeth Laboratories (chemist, literature scientist, patent liaison specialist, 1959–64); SmithKline Beecham Corporation, (Patent Agent, 1964–70; assistant director, Corporate Patents, 1970–76; director, Corporate Patents, 1976–77; vice president, Corporate Patents and Trademarks and Associate General Counsel, 1977–90); vice chairman of the Industry Functional Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights for Trade Policy Matters (IFAC 3) for the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (1987–90); Treasurer of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel (1987–89); President of the Philadelphia Patent Law Association (1984–85); member of the board of directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (formerly American Patent Law Association) (1982–85); member of the U.S. delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, October–November 1982, March 1984; chairman of the Patent Committee of the Law Section of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (1980–85); member of the American Bar Association, the American Chemical Society, the Cosmos Club, and the Harvard Club of Washington; member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure (1990–1998); member of Temple Law School Board of Visitors (1996– ) admitted to: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court; awarded Jefferson Medal by the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Assoc. for outstanding contributions to intellectual property law – 1998; nominated January 25, 1990, by President George Bush to be circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, confirmed by Senate on April 5, 1990, and assumed duties of the office on April 11, 1990.

Raymond C. Clevenger, III
Circuit judge, born August 27, 1937, in Topeka, KS; son of R. Charles Clevenger and Mary Margaret Ramsey Clevenger; educated in the public schools in Topeka, Kansas, and at Phillips Academy, Andover, MA; B.A., Yale University, 1959; LL.B., Yale University, 1966; law clerk to Justice White, October term, 1966; practice of law at Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, Washington, DC, 1967–90. Nominated by President George Bush on January 24, 1990, confirmed on April 27, 1990 and assumed duties on May 3, 1990.

Randall R. Rader
RANDALL R. RADER, is a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He was born on April 21, 1949, in Hastings, Nebraska, son of Raymond A. Rader and Gloria R. Smith. He obtained a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University in 1974 and a J.D. from George Washington University in 1978. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the United States Claims Court in 1988. While a federal trial judge, he became the first Claims Court judge ever appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to a committee of the Judicial Conference. President George Bush nominated Judge Rader to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1990.

While on the appellate bench, Judge Rader has also served actively as an educator. From 1993-1999, he taught Patent Law I and Patent Law II at the University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia; from 1998-99 Comparative Patent Law at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.; and from 1993-97 Trial Advocacy at the George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C. Currently Judge Rader teaches several general and specialized intellectual property law courses at George Washington University. In addition, he serves on advisory boards affiliated with three law schools. Judge Rader is co-author of a casebook, Patent Law, West Publishing, 1998 – a text used at over 45 law schools. As an appellate judge, Judge Rader has also led or participated in twenty-six delegations to foreign nations, usually to teach rule of law or intellectual property concepts in developing nations.

Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Rader served members of the House of Representatives (1975-1980) and as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee (1980-88). While counsel to the Judiciary Committee, he was Chief Counsel or Minority Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on the Constitution and the Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights.

Alvin A. Schall
Circuit judge; born April 4, 1944, in New York City, NY; son of Gordon William Schall and Helen Davis Schall; preparatory education: St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH, 1956–62, graduated cum laude; higher education: B.A., Princeton University, 1962–66; J.D., Tulane Law School, 1966–69; married to the former Sharon Frances LeBlanc, children: Amanda and Anthony. 1969–73: associate with the law firm of Shearman and Sterling in New York City; 1973–78: Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Chief of the Appeals Division, 1977–78; 1978–87: Trial Attorney, Senior Trial Counsel, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC; 1987–88: member of the Washington, DC law firm of Perlman and Partners; 1988–92: Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States; 1992–Present: Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, appointed by President George Bush on August 17, 1992, sworn in on August 19, 1992. Author: “Federal Contract Disputes and Forums,” Chapter 9 in Construction Litigation: Strategies and Techniques, published by John Wiley and Sons (Wiley Law Publications), 1989.
William Curtis Bryson
Circuit judge; born August 19, 1945, in Houston, TX; A.B., Harvard University, 1969; J.D., University of Texas School of Law, 1973; married, two children; law clerk to Hon. Henry J. Friendly, circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1973–74), and Hon. Thurgood Marshall, associate justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1974–75); associate, Miller, Cassidy, Larroca and Lewin, Washington, DC (1975–78); Department of Justice, Criminal Division (1979–86), Office of Solicitor General (1978–79, 1986–94), and Office of the Associate Attorney General (1994); nominated in June 1994 by President Clinton to be circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and assumed duties of the office on October 7, 1994.

Arthur J. Gajarsa
Circuit judge, born March 1, 1941 in Norcia (Pro. Perugia), Italy Married. Five children. Education: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 1958-62, B.S.E.E., Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., 1968; M.A. in economics, graduate studies; Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. 1967, J.D.; Career Record: 1962-1963; Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent Office, Dept. of Commerce; 1963-64, Patent Adviser, U.S. Air Force, Dept. of Defense; 1964-67, Patent Adviser, Cushman, Darby and Cushman; 1967-68, Law Clerk to Honorable Joseph McGarraghy, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.; 1968-69, attorney, Office of General Counsel, Aetna Life and Casualty Co.; 1969-71, Special Counsel and Asst. to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of Interior; 1971-72, Associate, Duncan and Brown; 1972-78, Partner, Gajarsa, Liss and Sterenbuch; 1978-80, Partner, Gajarsa, Liss and Conroy; 1980-86, Partner, Wender, Murase and White; 1987-97, Partner and Officer, Joseph, Gajarsa, McDermott and Reiner, P.C. Registered Patent Agent, Registered Patent Attorney, 1963. Admitted to DC Bar 1968, CT State Bar, 1969. Nominated for appointment April 18, 1996 by President William Jefferson Clinton (D); was confirmed by Senate July 31, 1997. Entered service September 12, 1997.

Richard Linn
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; nominated by President Clinton on September 28, 1999; confirmed by the Senate on November 19, 1999; assumed duties of the office on January 1, 2000; B.E.E., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1965; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1969; patent examiner, U.S. Patent Office, 1965-68; patent agent, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 1968-69; private practice, specializing in intellectual property litigation 1970-99; member, founding Board of Governors, Virginia State Bar Section on Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law, Chairman, 1975; recipient, Rensselaer Alumni Association Fellows Award for 2000; Professorial Lecturer in Law, George Washington University Law School, 2001-date; member, Intellectual Property Advisory Board, George Washington University Law School; President, Giles Sutherland Rich American Inn of Court.

Timothy B. Dyk
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Nominated for appointment April 1, 1998 by President Clinton; confirmed by Senate, May 24, 2000; entered on duty June 9, 2000. Education: Harvard College, A.B., (cum laude) 1958; Harvard Law School, LL.B., (magna cum laude), 1961. Prior Employment: Law Clerk to Justices Reed and Burton (retired), 1961-62; Law Clerk to Chief Justice Warren, 1962-63; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General, Louis F. Oberdorfer, 1963-64; Associate and Partner, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, 1964-90; Partner and Chair Issues & Appeals Practice area (until nomination), Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue, 1990-2000; and Adjunct Professor Yale, University of Virginia and Georgetown Law Schools.

Sharon Prost
Circuit Judge, appointed by President Bush, 2001; B.S., Cornell University, 1973; M.B.A., George Washington University, 1975; J.D., Washington College of Law, American University, 1979; LL.M., George Washington University School of Law, 1984; Labor Relations Specialist, United States Civil Service Commission, 1973-76; Labor Relations Specialist/Auditor, United States General Accounting Office, 1976-80; Field Attorney, Federal Labor Relations Authority, 1980-83; Attorney, Internal Revenue Office, 1983-84; Assistant Solicitor, Associate Solicitor, Acting Solicitor, National Labor Relations Board, 1984-89; Chief Labor Counsel (Minority), Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, 1989-93; Minority Chief Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsel, Chief Counsel, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 1993-2001.

Born in Newburyport, MA, children Matthew and Jeffrey.

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Senior Judges
Daniel M. Friedman
Senior circuit judge; born New York, NY, February 8, 1916; son of Henry M. and Julia (Freedman) Friedman; attended the Ethical Culture Schools in New York City; A.B., Columbia College, 1937; LL.B., Columbia Law School, 1940; married to Leah L. Lipson (deceased), January 16, 1955; married to Elizabeth M. Ellis, October 18, 1975; admitted to New York bar, 1941; private practice, New York, NY, 1940–42; legal staff, Securities and Exchange Commission, 1942, 1946–51; served in the U.S. Army, 1942–46; Appellate Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1951–59; assistant to the Solicitor General, 1959–62; second assistant to the Solicitor General, 1962–68; First Deputy Solicitor General, 1968–78; Acting Solicitor General, January–March 1977, nominated by President Carter as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Claims, March 22, 1978; confirmed by the Senate, May 17, 1978, and assumed duties of the office on May 24, 1978; as of October 1, 1982, continued in office as judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, pursuant to §165, Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, Public Law 97–164, 96 Stat. 50.

Glenn Leroy Archer, Jr.
Senior circuit judge; born March 21, 1929, in Densmore, KS; son of Glenn L. Archer and Ruth Agnes Ford; educated in Kansas public schools; B.A., Yale University, 1951; J.D., with honors, George Washington University Law School, 1954; married to Carole Joan Thomas; children: Susan, Sharon, Glenn III, and Thomas; First Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General’s Office, U.S. Air Force, 1954–56; associate (1956–60) and partner (1960–81), Hamel, Park, McCabe and Saunders, Washington, DC; nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan to be Assistant Attorney General for the Tax–Division, U.S. Department of Justice, and served in that position from December 1981 to December 1985; nominated in October 1985 by President Ronald Reagan to be circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Assumed duties of the office on December 23, 1985, became chief judge on March 19, 1994, and assumed senior status December 25, 1997.

S. Jay Plager
Senior judge; born 1931; educated public schools, Long Branch, NJ; A.B., University of North Carolina, 1952; J.D., University of Florida, with high honors, 1958; LL.M., Columbia University, 1961; Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Order of the Coif, Holloway fellow, University of North Carolina; Editor- in-Chief, University of Florida Law Review; Charles Evans Hughes Fellow, Columbia University; three children; commissioned, Ensign U.S. Navy, 1952; active duty Korean conflict; honorable discharge as Commander, USNR, 1971; professor, Faculty of Law, University of Florida, 1958-64; University of Illinois, 1964-77; Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington, 1977-89; visiting research professor of law, University of Wisconsin, 1967-68; visiting fellow, Trinity College and visiting professor, Cambridge University, 1980; visiting scholar, Stanford University Law School, 1984-85; dean and professor, Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington, 1977-84; counselor to the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1986-87; Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States, 1987-88; Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States, 1988-89; circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, appointed by President George Bush, November 1989; retired from active service November 30, 2000, and assumed status of senior judge; author of numerous articles and books.

Wilson Cowen
Senior judge; born near Clifton, TX, December 20, 1905; son of John R. and Florence (McFadden) Cowen; LL.B., University of Texas, 1928; married to Florence Elizabeth Walker, April 18, 1930; children: Wilson Walker and John Elwin; admitted to Texas bar in 1928; private practice in Dalhart, TX, 1928–34; county judge, Dallam County, TX, 1935–38; State director for Texas, 1938–40, and regional director, 1940–42, Farm Security Administration, region XII; commissioner, U.S. Court of Claims, 1942–43; assistant administrator, War Food Administration, 1943–44; returned to the Court of Claims as commissioner in 1945, and was designated chief commissioner in 1959; nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson as chief judge, U.S. Court of Claims, June 16, 1964, and assumed duties of the office July 14, 1964; retired from active service as chief judge, March 1, 1977, and assumed status as senior judge; as of October 1, 1982, continued in office as senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, pursuant to §165, Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, Public Law 97–164, 96 Stat. 50.; assumed the status of inactive senior judge on August 1, 1997.
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