Thomas M. Durbin (Credit: Mayer Brown LLP)
President Barack Obama nominated former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Durkin Monday as a District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
Durkin has been a partner with the Mayer Brown LLP law firm in Chicago since 1993, where he focuses in business and commercial litigation, along with white collar criminal defense. His clients at the firm have included JP Morgan Chase and Abbott Laboratories. He works on internal investigations for corporate clients related to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1980 to 1993, he served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division and Chief of the Criminal and Receiving and Appellate Division.
“The judges of the Northern District of Illinois are delighted by the nomination of such a distinguished lawyer,” Chief Judge James F. Holderman said in a news release. “We thank [Illinois] Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk for their bipartisan approach to filling our court’s judicial vacancies and we enthusiastically look forward to Tom Durkin’s confirmation.”
Durkin’s nomination fills the vacant position in the court left by Judge Wayne R. Andersen, who retired July 31, 2010. Durkin’s confirmation would leave two vacancies in the federal Illinois District Court.
