Press Release - President Obama Names Five to the United States District Court

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama nominated Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, Judge Susan Richard Nelson, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander, Judge James K. Bredar and Edmond E. Chang to United States District Court judgeships.

"I am honored to nominate these outstanding candidates to serve on the United States District Court bench," said President Obama. "They all have long and distinguished records of service, and I am confident they will continue to serve the American people with integrity and an unwavering commitment to justice."

Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii

Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Hawaii, a position she has held since 1999. Prior to her appointment, she was an associate attorney (1984-1991) and then partner and managing partner (1991-1999) with the Honolulu firm of Fujiyama, Duffy & Fujiyama. Before joining the firm, Judge Kobayashi served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Honolulu from 1983 to 1984. She received her J.D. in 1983 from Boston College School of Law and her B.A. from Wellesley College in 1979.

Judge Susan Richard Nelson: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

Judge Susan Richard Nelson serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota, a position she has held since 2000. Prior to becoming a judge, she spent sixteen years in private practice with the Minneapolis firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (1984-2000), where she became a partner in 1988. After law school, Judge Nelson was an associate attorney from 1978 to 1980 with the firm of Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and from 1980 to 1983 with the firm of Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn in New Haven, Connecticut. Judge Nelson received her J.D. in 1978 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her B.A. in 1974 from Oberlin College.

Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander serves as an Associate Judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, a position she has held since 1994. She was an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City from 1989 to 1994. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Hollander was in private practice from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1989 in the Baltimore firm of Frank, Bernstein, Conaway & Goldman, where she became a partner in 1985. She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland from 1979 to 1983. Following law school, Judge Hollander clerked for Judge James R. Miller, Jr., of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She received her J.D. in 1974 from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in 1971 from Goucher College.

Judge James K. Bredar: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Judge James K. Bredar serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland, a position he has held since 1998. He previously served as the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland (1992-1998) and an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado (1989-1992). He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Colorado (1985-1989) and a Deputy District Attorney inMoffat County, Colorado (1984-1985). Following law school, Judge Bredar clerked for Judge Richard P. Matsch of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. He received his J.D. in 1982 from the Georgetown University Law Center and his A.B. in 1979 from Harvard University.

Edmond E. Chang: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Edmond E. Chang is an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago office, where he has represented the government in criminal cases at the trial and appellate levels since 1999. Since 2005, he has served as Chief of Appeals for the Criminal Division, and he previously served as Deputy Chief of the General Crimes section. From 1997 to 1999, he was an associate in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP, where he practiced in labor and employment litigation. After law school, Chang was a law clerk to the Honorable James L. Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and then for the Honorable Marvin E. Aspen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Since 1996, he has served as an adjunct professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law teaching civil rights litigation. Chang received his B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering (cum laude) in 1991 from the University of Michigan, and his J.D. (cum laude) in 1994 from Northwestern University School of Law.