(CN) - The Senate has confirmed Los Angeles attorney Michael Fitzgerald to a vacancy in the U.S. District Court for Central District of California.
President Barack Obama nominated Fitzgerald in July, and his nomination went before the Senate Judiciary Committee in November. The Senate confirmed Fitzgerald's appointment Thursday by a 91-6 vote.
Fitzgerald, 52, fills a vacancy left by U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz who has taken senior status.
A defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, Fitzgerald went to Harvard University for his undergraduate degree. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, in 1985.
Fitzgerald has been a partner in the firm of Corbin, Fitzgerald & Athey since 1998, specializing in commercial litigation, internal investigations and white-collar criminal representation.
The Los Angeles native currently serves on the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He also belongs to the American Bar Association's White-Collar Crime Committee and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.
Fitzgerald served as a lawyer representative to the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference from 2006 to 2008 and on the 9th Circuit Attorney Admission Fund Committee from 2001 to 2003.
As a federal judge, Fitzgerald is appointed for life and will earn a $174,000 annual salary.
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