William H. Orrick, III

William Horsley Orrick III (born May 15, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He had a long career as a lawyer in private practice in San Francisco, and served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice during the Obama administration. Early life and education Orrick was born in San Francisco on May 15, 1953. His father, William H. Orrick Jr. (1915–2003), was a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California and served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division in the John F. Kennedy administration. His mother, Marion Naffziger Orrick ( 1995), was active in San Francisco civic life. Orrick's uncle, Andrew Downey Orrick, was acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco. Orrick received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude, from Yale University in 1976. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 1979. Career From 1977 to 1979 he was a student attorney for the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau. After graduating, Orrick worked from 1979 to 1984 at the Georgia Legal Services Program in Savannah, providing legal aid services to low-income Georgians. Upon returning to San Francisco, he chose to join William Coblentz's Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP, rather than the law firm co-founded by his grandfather William Orrick Sr., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Orrick practiced at the Coblentz firm for about 25 years, from 1984 to 2009. He joined as an associate in 1984 and was promoted to partner in 1988. Orrick then served in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, first as counselor (June 2009 – June 2010) and then as deputy assistant attorney general (June 2010 – 2013), heading the Office of Immigration Litigation. Orrick returned to Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass for ten months while his nomination to the district court was pending in the Senate.