Jennifer Elrod

Jennifer Walker Elrod (born Jennifer Leigh Walker; September 6, 1966) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit since 2007. She previously served as a state court judge on the 190th District Court of Texas from 2002 to 2007. Background Elrod was born Jennifer Leigh Walker in 1966 in Port Arthur, Texas, and grew up in Baytown, Texas. After high school, Elrod studied economics at Baylor University, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude. At Baylor, she was the Outstanding Graduating Senior of the Honors Program and was eventually named Outstanding Young Alumna. She went to Harvard Law School in 1989 and received her Juris Doctor in 1992, graduating cum laude. At Harvard Law School, she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers, an active member of the Harvard Federalist Society, and a finalist in the Ames Moot Court competition. She became a member of the State Bar of Texas in 1992. After law school, Elrod was a law clerk for Judge Sim Lake of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas from 1992 to 1994. She then entered private practice at the law firm Baker Botts.