Gerard E. Lynch

Gerard Edmund Lynch (born September 4, 1951) is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was confirmed to that seat on September 17, 2009, after previously having been appointed in 2000 by President Bill Clinton to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Lynch was the first appeals-court judge nominated by President Barack Obama to win confirmation from the United States Senate. Lynch is also the Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Education and early career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lynch graduated from Regis High School in 1968, received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1972, and his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1975, graduating first in his class at all three institutions. He joined the Columbia faculty in 1977, following judicial clerkships for Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1975–76 and United States Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. in 1976–77. He served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1980 to 1983, prosecuting white-collar criminal cases and serving as chief appellate attorney. He returned to that office as chief of the criminal division in 1990–92. He was in private practice of law in New York City from 1992 to 2000. Lynch served as Vice Dean of Columbia Law School from 1992 to 1997. He has been a visiting professor or lecturer at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; National Police Academy (Tokyo); University of Tokyo; University of Buenos Aires; the Leiden University; and the University of Amsterdam. He was appointed counsel to numerous city, state, and federal commissions and special prosecutors investigating public corruption, including the Iran/Contra investigation, where among other responsibilities he briefed and argued the prosecution position in the appeal of Oliver North. He briefed and argued cases in federal appellate courts, including the Supreme Court, and as a cooperating attorney with the American and New York Civil Liberties Unions. He also has extensive experience as a defense attorney in state and federal cases.