Tana Lin

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Tana Lin

| image = United States District Judge Tana Lin, Western District of Washington.jpg

| office = Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington

| appointer = Joe Biden

| term_start = November 23, 2021

| term_end =

| predecessor = Marsha J. Pechman

| successor =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|09|15}}

| birth_place = Taipei, Taiwan

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse =

| children =

| education = Cornell University (BA)
New York University (JD)

}}

Tana Lin (born September 15, 1966){{Cite web |title=Tana Lin Profile |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/tana-lin-6527/ |access-date=2021-04-29 |website=www.martindale.com}} is a Taiwanese-American lawyer who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. She is the first Taiwanese American woman to serve on the district court.

Early life and education

Lin was born in Taipei and moved to the United States as a child. She lived in Lawrence, Kansas, while her father was a graduate student at the University of Kansas before the family eventually settled in Chicago.{{Cite web|title=Tana Lin - Washington Lawyers - Finding Her Voice|url=https://www.superlawyers.com/washington/article/finding-her-voice/cd7b5581-bac9-4238-8fd5-0e190eadd313.html|access-date=2021-09-11|website=Super Lawyers|language=en}} She received her Bachelor of Arts with distinction from Cornell University in 1988 and her Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1991.[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/29/president-biden-announces-second-slate-of-judicial-nominees/ "President Biden Announces Second Slate of Judicial Nominees", White House, April 29, 2021] {{PD-notice}}

Career

Lin began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. From 1995 to 1999, she was an attorney with the United States Department of Justice Employment Litigation Section. From 1999 to 2001, she was a senior trial attorney at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Chicago district office. From 2001 to 2004, she was the litigation coordinator at the Michigan Poverty Law Program. From 2004 to 2021, she was with Keller Rohrback, first as an associate from 2004 to 2007, as a partner from 2008 to 2019, and as of counsel from 2020 to 2021.

Lin served on the board of directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington from 2016 to 2021 and as the board's president 2019 to 2021.{{cite news |title=Biden Looks Beyond BigLaw For Court Openings In NJ, Wash. - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1379950 |access-date=11 September 2021 |work=www.law360.com |date=April 29, 2021 |language=en}}

= Federal judicial service =

On April 29, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Lin to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to the seat vacated by Judge Marsha J. Pechman, who assumed senior status on February 6, 2016.[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/29/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-15/ "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 29, 2021] On June 9, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/06/02/2021/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for June 9, 2021] On July 15, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote, with Senator Lindsey Graham passed on the vote.{{Cite web|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – July 15, 2021|date=July 15, 2021|publisher=Senate Judiciary Committee|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting%20July%2015.pdf|access-date=November 25, 2022}}{{Cite press release |title=Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate of Circuit & District Court Nominations |date=July 15, 2021 |publisher=Senate Judiciary Committee |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/senate-judiciary-committee-advances-latest-slate-of-circuit-and-district-court-nominations |access-date=July 19, 2021}} On October 21, 2021, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–47 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00421.htm|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Tana Lin to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington ) |date=October 21, 2021|website=United States Senate|access-date=October 21, 2021}} Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–45 vote.{{Cite web|url= https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00424.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Tana Lin, of Washington, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington)|date=October 21, 2021|website=United States Senate|access-date=October 21, 2021}} She received her commission on November 23, 2021.{{FJC Bio|nid=10904781|inline=yes}} She was sworn in on December 8, 2021.{{Cite web|date=December 10, 2021|title=THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON WELCOMES DISTRICT JUDGE TANA LIN|url=https://www.wawd.uscourts.gov/sites/wawd/files/Judge%20Lin%20announcement.pdf|website=wawd.uscourts.gov|access-date=May 27, 2023}} Lin became the district's first Asian American Article III judge.{{cite web|url=https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/ce9/2021/Lin_Tana_Confirmed_WAW.pdf|title=Senate Confirms New Judge for U.S. District Court for Western District of Washington|publisher=United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit|work=Public Information Office|date=October 21, 2021|accessdate=October 22, 2021}}{{Cite news|date=October 22, 2021|title=Attorney Tana Lin is now the first Asian American U.S. judge in Washington state|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna3591|website=NBC News|access-date=July 25, 2023|language=en-US}}