COURT: EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
AGE: 62
CONFIRMED: JULY 2007
APPOINTED BY: BUSH

Liam O’Grady joined the bench relatively late in his career — he already had 28 years of experience as a state and federal prosecutor, intellectual property attorney, and federal magistrate judge when he became a U.S. federal district court judge in Alexandria, Virginia, in July 2007. But his unique combination of expertise in criminal cases and IP litigation has proven useful in his district, which is a hot spot for government cases as well as patent suits.