NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Susan Carney as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, capping a year-long approval process.

Carney, a deputy general counsel at Yale University, was confirmed by a vote of 71 to 28, with one abstention. She was first nominated to the position by President Obama on May 20, 2010, and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February.

At Yale, Carney has handled intellectual property matters, transactional work and international university affiliations, according to her response to the Senate Judiciary Committee's questionnaire. She previously served as a lawyer in the Peace Corps, and worked as an attorney in private practice in Washington.

Throughout her career 60 percent of Carney's work has been devoted to transactional or counseling matters, and 40 percent to litigation, she estimated in the questionnaire. Of the litigation matters 98 percent has been civil work, while 2 percent was criminal, she estimated.

With Carney's confirmation there is now just one open judgeship on the Second Circuit, which covers federal appeals cases from New York, Connecticut and Vermont. Earlier this month Obama nominated Christopher Droney, a U.S. district judge in Connecticut, to fill the other vacancy.

(Reporting by Carlyn Kolker)