Patricia Millett’s confirmation today to a key federal appeals court in Washington marked the start of a new streamlined approach to judicial nominations on Capitol Hill. The move also marked the beginning of a period of change at the court—and at the appellate practice at the law firm she will leave behind.
The Senate voted 56-38 to confirm Millett, a co-leader of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s appellate and U.S. Supreme Court practice, to fill one of three vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The close vote wasn’t a reflection on her qualifications, which were never challenged during the nomination process.
