Tiffany Cunningham Confirmed by Senate as First Black Federal Circuit Judge

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Senate confirmed Tiffany Cunningham to a seat on the Federal Circuit court Monday, by a 63-33 vote. She will be the first Black woman to serve on the patent-focused court.

Cunningham’s legal career began at the U.S. Federal Circuit in 2001 where she clerked to then-judge Timothy Dyk. Cunningham also was a Kirkland & Ellis partner from 2007 until 2014, when she then became a partner at Perkins Coie.

She is a member of the Perkins Coie’s firm’s 17-member Executive Committee on Patent Litigation and has received a well-qualified rating from the American Bar Association.

Cunningham was nominated by President Joe Biden in March, with another 10 nominees, which the president described as a “trailblazing slate,” of candidates. Included among those nominees alongside Cunningham was Ketanji Brown Jackson — confirmed by the Senate by a 53-44 vote last month and rumored to be the president’s top choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise.

Before her full nomination on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin lauded Cunningham’s accomplishments in a June committee meeting. He noted Cunningham’s chemical engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Harvard Law degree as “exceptional credentials.”

“She’s been an intellectual property litigator for almost two decades working on every aspect of patent litigation from the inception of the case though discovery, trial and appeal,” Durbin said. “In addition, she’s represented clients from a number of fields as both plaintiffs and defendants ranging from mechanical engineering to pharmaceuticals to high tech.”

Cunningham will replace Judge Evan Wallach on the bench, who will assume senior status after his 10-year term of service. Wallach was appointed to his post by former President Barack Obama from the U.S. Court of International Trade where he served for 16 years.

Cunningham told the Senate Judiciary committee in May she thought of the position as her “dream job.” A letter from former clerks of Judge Dyk also wrote to senators to express their support of Cunningham’s nomination in April, detailing Cunningham’s determination and tenacity for her career.

“Her work ethic, fierce intelligence and collegial nature has led her to excel in almost every context and environment where she found herself,” they wrote.

Lateef Mtima, the Institute for Intellectual Property & Social Justice’s founder and director, also wrote a letter to the committee in support of Cunningham in May — outlining the benefits of adding diverse voices to the Federal Circuit.

“Hegemony in global innovation is directly dependent upon a wellspring of variegated human experience and inspiration,” she wrote. “President Biden’s nomination of Tiffany Cunningham to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit manifests a major step in ensuring the court’s continued vitality as the penultimate judicial forum in the American innovation ecosystem.”

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit