Norton to Attend Investiture of Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper, Norton Recommendation for U.S. District Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today will attend the investiture ceremony for Judge Christopher "Casey" Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Cooper's nomination was recommended to President Obama by Norton, and he was confirmed by the Senate in March.

Cooper, an African American, is a graduate of Yale College, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and Stanford Law School, where he graduated with distinction and served as president of the law review. He clerked for Judge Abner J. Mikva, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. After his clerkship, he served as Special Assistant to then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick for two years. When he left the Department of Justice, he joined the law firm Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin, L.L.P. (later merged into the law firm Baker Botts L.L.P.), where he served as an associate and partner from 1996 to 2012. After practicing in D.C. for his entire career, Cooper moved with his family to London, where he joined Baker Botts' London office. In 2012, he became a partner at Covington & Burling in its London office, and has since moved back to the firm's D.C. office.

"I look forward to seeing Judge Casey Cooper formally take his seat on our U.S. District Court here," Norton said. "His brilliant career and broad experience predict he will add add distinction to our District Court bench."

President Obama, like President Clinton, granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend candidates for federal district court judges and other important federal law enforcement officials in the District. The Congresswoman recommended Cooper from a number of candidates screened by her Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, chaired by Pauline Schneider, a special counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP and a former president of the D.C. Bar. President Obama has nominated and the Senate has confirmed eight of Norton's recommendations for district court judges – Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amy Berman Jackson, James E. Boasberg, Rudolph Contreras, Beryl A. Howell, Robert L. Wilkins, Casey Cooper and Tanya Chutkan, who was recently elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Another Norton recommendation, Randolph Moss, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and is awaiting confirmation by the Senate soon.