James C. Duff
Bold text{{short description|American museum CEO, public servant}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = James C. Duff
| image = James-C-Duff-NEW.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953}}
| education = University of Kentucky
University of Edinburgh
Georgetown University
}}
James C. Duff (born 1953) is currently serving as interim dean of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. He has served as Executive Director of the Supreme Court Historical Society since February 2021. He previously served as Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), by appointment of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., from January 2015 through January 2021. He served an earlier term as AO Director from July 2006 to September 2011. As AO Director, Duff was the Secretary of the Judicial Conference of the United States and a member of the board of the Federal Judicial Center.
In between his two periods of service as Director of the AO, Duff served as president and chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum and the Newseum from 2011 through 2014.
Duff is former chairman of the U.S. Supreme Court Fellows Commission and has been a board member of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society since 1996. He was an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University for 16 years where he was the inaugural professor in the Walter Giles Endowed Department Seminar in Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties in 2010 and was named the Peter Mullen Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown for 2014. He has also lectured in the “Courts and Congress” seminar at Georgetown Law School in 2022 and 2023.
Previously, Duff was managing partner of the Washington office of Baker Donelson which was founded by Howard Baker Jr., former majority leader of the U.S. Senate. At the firm, Duff represented the University of Kentucky’s federal interests, served as counsel to the Federal Judges Association, and was counsel and secretary to the Freedom Forum and its affiliates, the Newseum, First Amendment Center and Diversity Institute. He was also appointed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to review and advise it on its procedures while at Baker Donelson.
From 1996 to 2000, Duff served as Counselor to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and was his liaison with Congress, the executive branch, and various state and federal organizations involved with the administration of justice. He served as counsel to the Chief Justice in his role as presiding officer of the presidential impeachment trial in 1999. Duff also assisted Chief Justice Rehnquist in his duties as Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution.
Earlier in his career, Duff was a partner at Clifford & Warnke, where he worked for 12 years until many in the firm merged with Howrey & Simon where he was a litigation partner for five years. While attending Georgetown Law, he worked in Chief Justice Warren E. Burger’s chambers for four years.
As an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, he was a walk-on member of the basketball team. He graduated from Kentucky in 1975 magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree, Phi Beta Kappa, and with High Distinction in its Honors Program. He attended the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 1973. He received his law degree at Georgetown University Law School in 1981.
Duff was elected to The American Law Institute in 2016 and appointed to the Georgetown Law School’s Board of Visitors in 2014. He served as the first Chair of the University of Kentucky Arts & Sciences Advisory Board and currently serves on the UK Lewis Honors College Advisory Board. In 2021, he was inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni and in 2012 he was named to the UK Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He was given the Georgetown Entertainment and Media Law Achievement Award also in 2012.
Duff is married to Kathleen Gallagher-Duff, a lawyer at Covington & Burling. They have three children and two grandchildren.
Education and early career
Duff graduated magna cum laude from the University of Kentucky Honors Program in 1975 with a degree in political science and philosophy, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He also was a walk-on on the university's basketball team.{{cite web|url=http://www.kentucky.com/2012/10/13/2370892/mark-story-ex-uk-basketball-walk.html|title=Ex-UK basketball walk-on Jim Duff has made a big mark in a different 'court'|accessdate=2014-03-04}}
After studying at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 1974, he returned to the U.S. in 1975 and worked for four years as an aide in the chambers of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/04/AR2005090401523.html|title=One Man's Unwavering Constitution|last=Davis|first=Marcia|date=September 5, 2005|newspaper=The Washington Post|pages=C1|accessdate=2008-05-08}} He graduated from Georgetown Law in 1981,{{cite web|url=http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/augttb96/duff.htm|title=New Administrative Assistant Begins Duties at Supreme Court|accessdate=2008-05-02|archive-date=2008-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923235119/http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/augttb96/duff.htm|url-status=dead}} then worked at the law firm Clifford and Warnke, where in 1990 he became a partner.
In 1991, a large contingent of Clifford and Warnke lawyers and staff, including Duff, merged with the firm of Howrey and Simon,Walsh, Sharon (December 1991). "Warnke, Others Leave Clark Clifford Law Firm." The Washington Post. C1. [http://www.proquest.com/ ProQuest]. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. where he practiced antitrust, commercial litigation, and international trade until 1996.
Legal and political career
From 1996 to 2000, Duff was Chief Justice William Rehnquist's Administrative Assistant, now called "Counselor to the Chief Justice," serving as his liaison with the other branches of government and as executive director of the Judicial Fellows Commission. He preceded Sally Rider as the Chief Justice's chief of staff,{{cite web|url=http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/aug00ttb/newasst.html|title=New Administrative Assistant at Supreme Court|accessdate=2008-05-02|archive-date=2008-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924024936/http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/aug00ttb/newasst.html|url-status=dead}} in which Duff assisted Rehnquist in his roles as chair of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Federal Judicial Center Board. He also served as counselor to the Chief Justice as presiding officer of the U.S. Senate's 1999 presidential impeachment trial.
From 2000 to 2006, Duff served as the managing partner of the Washington office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, which was opened by former Majority Leader Howard Baker Jr.{{cite web|url=http://www.bakerdonelson.com/News.aspx?NodeID=196&NewsID=137 |title=Chief Justice Roberts Appoints Jim Duff of Baker Donelson to U.S. Courts Director Position |date=2006-05-12 |work=www.BakerDonelson.com |accessdate=2008-05-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026165722/http://www.bakerdonelson.com/News.aspx?NodeID=196&NewsID=137 |archivedate=October 26, 2006 }}"Noted ...." Wall Street Journal. April 25, 2006: B11. [http://www.proquest.com/ ProQuest]. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. There he represented the Federal Judges Association before Congress{{cite web|url=http://fja.fed.egovapps.com/egov/apps/egov/connect.egov?path=printable&id=24|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710133804/http://fja.fed.egovapps.com/egov/apps/egov/connect.egov?path=printable&id=24|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2012|title=Federal Judges Association Newsletter|date=November 30, 2004|accessdate=2008-05-06}} as well as the Freedom Forum.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}. He also represented the University of Kentucky's federal government interests in Washington and at the request of NCAA President Myles Brand, in 2006 he authored an overview and report to the NCAA on its rules and procedures. Duff has taught constitutional law at Georgetown University as an adjunct professor. He was named the Peter Mullen Professor of Law at Georgetown University for the fall of 2014 and previously served as the first lecturer of the Giles Seminar at Georgetown for two years.
In September 2005, Duff was a pallbearer at Rehnquist's funeral,{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05250/566885.stm|title=Rehnquist lies in state|last=McGough|first=Michael|date=September 7, 2005|work=Post Gazette|accessdate=2008-05-08}} alongside seven of Rehnquist's former law clerks. Duff authored a tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist in the November 2005 edition of the Harvard Law Review Duff, James C. 2005. "In Memoriam: William H. Rehnquist." Harvard Law Review, volume 119, issue 1, p. 16-19 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312045225/http://hlr.rubystudio.com/media/pdf/rehnquist_tribute.pdf#page=16(PDF)] and spoke at the unveiling Ceremony for the William H. Rehnquist bust in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court in December 2009.
From July 2006 through September 15, 2011, Duff served as Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. He was appointed in April 2006 by United States Chief Justice John Roberts.Arberg, Kathy (April 2006). Press Release. [https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pr_04-20-06.html (HTML)]. Retrieved on 2008-05-08 On May 31, 2011, Duff announced{{cite web |title=Administrative Office Head, Jim Duff, Announces Resignation |url=http://www.uscourts.gov/news/NewsView/11-05-31/Administrative_Office_Head_Jim_Duff_Announces_Resignation.aspx |accessdate=July 8, 2011 |work=United States Courts |date=May 31, 2011 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805153138/http://www.uscourts.gov/News/NewsView/11-05-31/Administrative_Office_Head_Jim_Duff_Announces_Resignation.aspx |url-status=dead }} that he was stepping down to assume the position of CEO at the Freedom Forum.
He was appointed to the Georgetown Law Center's Board of Visitors in 2014 and serves on the boards of Freedom House, the Supreme Court Historical Society and the University of Kentucky Arts & Sciences Advisory Board. He was named to the University of Kentucky Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 2012 and was given the Georgetown Entertainment and Media Law Achievement Award in 2012. Duff was elected to the membership at the American Law Institute in 2016.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
On November 4, 2014, it was announced by Chief Justice John Roberts that Duff would once again become Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, effective January 1, 2015. He succeeded Director Judge John D. Bates.{{cite web | url=http://news.uscourts.gov/james-c-duff-return-ao-director-january-2015 | title=James C. Duff to Return as AO Director in January 2015 | publisher=uscourts.gov | date=4 November 2014 | accessdate=18 November 2014}}{{cite web | url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_11-04-14 | title=Press Release | publisher=Supreme Court of the United States | date=4 November 2014 | accessdate=18 November 2014}} He retired on December 31, 2020.{{Cite press release |title=AO Director Announcement |date=January 5, 2021 |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_01-05-21 |access-date=January 8, 2021}}
Personal life
Duff and his wife, Kathleen Gallagher Duff, live in Bethesda, Maryland, and have three children.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.fellows.supremecourt.gov/ The Supreme Court Fellows Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801120156/http://www.fellows.supremecourt.gov/ |date=2013-08-01 }}
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3163-2005Feb6.html Serving in the Chief Justice's Shadow] (Information about Sally Rider)
- {{C-SPAN|82564}}
{{United States Judicial Conference}}
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Category:People from Bethesda, Maryland
Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni