The U.S. Senate yesterday overwhelmingly confirmed the nomination of J. Paul Oetken to a Southern District judgeship, making him the first openly gay judge on the federal bench.
Since 2004, Mr. Oetken, 45, has been senior vice president and associate general counsel to Cablevision Systems Corp., where he was responsible for litigation and employment law matters. Prior to joining Cablevision, he practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York and Jenner & Block in Washington, D.C. The University of Iowa and Yale Law School graduate also served as an associate counsel to President Bill Clinton and an attorney adviser to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and clerked for several federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun.
