Cohen-recommended District Court Nominee Sheri Lipman Confirmed by U.S. Senate

Lipman now becomes federal judge on the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Sheryl Lipman, who Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) recommended to President Obama to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, was today confirmed by the United States Senate on an overwhelming vote of 95-0. Judge Lipman was recommended by the Congressman after he convened a diverse and bipartisan screening committee to conduct interviews of nine potential candidates for the position. Before today’s vote, the Congressman also spoke on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in support of Ms. Lipman’s confirmation. Footage of the Congressman’s speech is available here.

“Sheri Lipman has proven herself a stellar attorney, she fully deserved to be confirmed to the bench, and I am confident that she will be a superb federal judge,” said Congressman Cohen. “Her breadth of experience, strong work ethic, and unimpeachable integrity easily made her the overwhelming first choice of the screening committee of local attorneys. I commend President Obama for taking my recommendation into consideration and nominating such a skilled Memphis attorney to the federal bench, and I am glad that she has been confirmed overwhelmingly by the United States Senate. I know that she will serve the Western District of Tennessee with distinction and the people of Memphis well.”

Before recommending Ms. Lipman to the President, Congressman Cohen interviewed all nine candidates for this judicial vacancy with his bipartisan committee of thirteen local attorneys. This screening panel was not only unique in its distinguished composition, but in its diversity as well. It included attorneys from the Memphis Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association, the Federal Public Defender’s office in Memphis, and other prominent local attorneys. Sheri Lipman was the screening committee’s clear choice, receiving nine first place votes, and the Congressman promptly recommended her to President Obama to fill this vacancy.

Judge Lipman has been an attorney since 1987 and has a wealth of legal experience. After attending the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree, Ms. Lipman received her J.D. from the New York University School of Law. She first clerked for the Honorable Julia S. Gibbons, who now sits on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, when Judge Gibbons was a District Court Judge. Ms. Lipman was an attorney at the Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs law office in Memphis for more than 4 years before practicing at the venerable Burch, Porter and Johnson law firm from 1997 to 1999. She also served as Vice President of Comprehensive Services at the Memphis Race Relations & Diversity Institute from 1996 to 1997. For nearly 14 years, she has worked at the University of Memphis—first as Senior Attorney, then serving as University Counsel for more than a decade before being named Chief of Staff to Interim President R. Brad Martin.