Indiana’s Brady, Hanlon tapped for federal judgeships

Two Valparaiso Law School graduates are included in the latest round of judicial nominations released Tuesday by the White House.

Holly Brady, partner at Haller & Colvin PC in Fort Wayne, and J.P. Hanlon, partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Indianapolis, have been nominated for the district courts in the northern and southern Indiana districts, respectively. Both studied at Valparaiso Law School with Brady graduating in 1994 and Hanlon graduating magna cum laude in 1996.

The Hoosiers are among 16 district court judge nominees put forth in the latest wave by the Trump Administration. Also included in the list of nominees were three candidates for circuit courts, two for U.S. Attorneys and eight to be U.S. Marshals as well as one to serve as judge on the U.S. Tax Court.
It is unclear which vacancies Brady and Hanlon would fill.

The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana has two vacancies created by Judges Joseph Van Bokkelen and Robert Miller, Jr., taking senior status.

In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the current vacancy opened when Judge Sarah Evans Barker took senior status. However, James Sweeney II has been nominated to fill that seat and is awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Senate. A new vacancy will be created when Judge William Lawrence retires July 1.

Brady joined her current firm in 2007 and focuses her practice on civil, employment and labor litigation. Previously, she was a partner at Theisen Bowers & Brady LLP and an associate at Barnes & Thornburg LLP as well as at Gallucci Hopkins & Theisen PC.

She has also served on the Northern District of Indiana Federal Community Defenders Board of Directors and as vice president of the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center.

Hanlon serves as co-chair of the Faegre’s white collar defense and investigations practice. Before becoming a partner at the former Baker & Daniels LLP in 2006, he was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. During that period, he tried 12 jury and two bench trials and argued multiple cases on appeal before the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hanlon practiced for three years as an associate in the labor and employment practice group at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

In law school, he was the articles editor of the Valparaiso University Law Review and after graduation, he clerked for Judge Robert Miller Jr. of the Northern District of Indiana Court. Hanlon also has taught courses on white collar crime at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.