Morrison Foerster is delighted and proud to share that MoFo alumna Judge Rita Lin will serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, following her confirmation by the U.S. Senate on September 19, 2023.
Judge Lin will be the second Asian American Pacific Islander woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She has served on the Superior Court of San Francisco County since 2018. Judge Lin was previously an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California and clerked for Judge Sandra Lynch on the First Circuit.
In recognition of Judge Lin, Eric McCrath, chair of Morrison Foerster, said: “At MoFo, Judge Lin was a key contributor to our financial services litigation and intellectual property litigation practices, advising and assisting clients on complex legal matters. Judge Lin was also an active participant in the firm’s pro bono program, arguing and winning cases that gained national attention.”
MoFo has more than 50 alumni serving the public on the bench nationwide. Judge Lin is the latest MoFo alum to join the federal bench, including most recently U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She will join four other MoFo alumni on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: Judges Richard Seeborg (the Presiding Judge of the Northern District), William Alsup, James Donato, and Jon Tigar. MoFo alumni Judges Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong and Josephine Staton also serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.