By Casey Sullivan
Nov 23 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
has recommended Vernon Broderick, a partner with the New York
law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, as a U.S. district judge in the
Southern District of New York.
Schumer said in a statement that he recommended Broderick,
49, to President Barack Obama on Wednesday. If nominated and
approved by the U.S. Senate, Broderick would become the first
Dominican American on the federal bench in New York.
Broderick, who handles white collar criminal matters
involving environmental law violations, securities fraud, and
RICO, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988. He began his
career as an associate with Weil, Gotshal, then joined the U.S.
Department of Justice in 1994 as an Assistant United States
Attorney in the Southern District of New York.
In the U.S. attorney's office, Broderick focused on criminal
investigations into narcotics and gangs. In 1999, he became the
chief of the Violent Gangs Unit for the U.S. Attorney's office
in the SDNY. He rejoined Weil, Gotshal in 2002.
Schumer said in a statement that he nominated Broderick
because of his "demonstrated leadership skills" and "strong ties
to New York."
There are 166 federal judge vacancies nationwide and 86
pending judicial nominees for current and future vacancies,
according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. There
are six empty District Judge seats in the Southern District.
Pending nominees for those seats include the former general
counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Valerie Caproni;
longtime Debevoise & Plimpton attorney, Lorna Schofield; New
York First Appellate Division Judge Nelson Roman; Assistant U.S.
Attorney and former Morgan, Lewis & Bockius lawyer Katherine
Polk Failla; and New York state judge Analisa Torres.
Ronnie Abrams, formerly special counsel at Davis Polk, was
the last judge to have been confirmed to a position on the
federal bench in the Southern District of New York. She was
approved in March.
As of Friday, President Obama had not yet publicly
acknowledged the Broderick recommendation. Broderick declined
comment through a Weil Gotshal spokeswoman.
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