U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen in Atlanta answers questions about his judicial career and how he reached the bench. He worked in the state attorney general’s office for Georgia Gov. Zell Miller and Troutman Sanders before being nominated in 2014 by President Barack Obama.

What prompted you to become a lawyer? I grew up in South Florida, and my father (who was not an attorney) used to take me to see hearings and trials in the Dade County Courthouse because of his respect for the practice of law. That, and seeing Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” certainly contributed to my desire to become a lawyer.