President Trump announces nomination of Indian-American as Associate Judge

- ADVERTISEMENT -

President Trump announced June 25, 2020, that he intends to nominate Indian-American Vijay Shanker, the current Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section at the Justice Department, to serve as Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. (He sent the nomination to the U.S. Senate on June 25)

Shanker is currently also Senior Litigation Counsel in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department.

Before joining the Department of Justice in 2012, Shanker was in private practice with the Washington, D.C., offices of Mayer Brown, LLP, and Covington & Burling, LLP.

A earning his B.A. cum laude from  Duke University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, Shanker served as a law clerk to Judge Chester J. Straub on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  At Virginia School of Law, he served as a Notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

According to his profile on the Jucicial Nomination Commission of the government of District of Columbia (jnc.dc.gov), Shanker has briefed and argued almost sixty federal appeals, including four en banc rehearings.

At the Justice Department, he investigates and prosecutes violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related offenses and advises attorneys and leadership on a range of legal issues and litigation matters.

From October 2012 to February 2014, Shanker served in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, first as Senior Counsel and then as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General.

He has been awarded the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award, the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, and the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

While at the University of Virginia Law School, Shanker was awarded the Roger & Madeleine Traynor Prize for “the graduate who has produced the best written work” and also the Law School Alumni Association Best Note Award.

(This story was updated June 26, 2020, with date nomination sent to U.S. Senate)