The U.S. Senate has approved the nomination of Haynes and Boone partner Jeremy Kernodle as a U.S. district judge in Tyler, bolstering an Eastern District of Texas bench that is loaded with complicated civil cases but doesn’t have nearly enough jurists to hear all of them.

The Eastern District currently hosts one of the most active patent dockets in the nation, especially in the Marshall, Texarkana and Tyler Division, where litigants have been attracted by experienced jurists, streamlined docket rules and a reputation for plaintiff-friendly juries.