Lorna Schofield is named federal judge in N.Y., first FilAm to hold position

Accomplished lawyer Lorna Schofield

The nomination of Lorna G. Schofield to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York was confirmed December 13th by the Senate, making her the first Filipino American to serve as an Article III federal judge.

Schofield, who currently is Of Counsel to Debevoise & Plimpton LLP was a litigation partner from 1991 to 2011. President Barack Obama nominated her for the position in April 2012.

“We are thrilled by Lorna’s appointment to the federal bench,” said Michael W. Blair, Presiding Partner at Debevoise. “Lorna is an extraordinarily accomplished lawyer who has been an invaluable member of the Debevoise team for more than two decades. And while we will certainly miss her, we are incredibly proud of what she has accomplished and have no doubt she will be an outstanding federal judge.”

Schofield’s practice focuses on litigation in complex commercial matters, particularly the defense of companies and individuals in regulatory and white collar criminal investigations. She also has conducted internal and independent investigations on behalf of companies, their Boards of Directors and Audit Committees. On the civil side, she has represented clients in private disputes, including class actions, corporate bankruptcies, business fraud, professional liability and commercial disputes. Schofield has defended clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as state attorneys general and other state regulators.

Schofield is an experienced trial attorney, building on the trial experience she gained as a federal prosecutor. Her trials include the successful defense of celebrity Rosie O’Donnell at trial in a $100 million lawsuit brought by the former publishers of Rosie magazine and a class action jury trial for one of the Big Four accounting firms in which the jury returned a favorable verdict after only 30 minutes.

Prior to joining Debevoise, from 1984 to 1988, Schofield served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where a majority of her cases involved commercial or financial fraud.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm, representing a wide range of clients in transactions and disputes around the world. Founded in 1931, the firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai.



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