Brady, Hanlon to testify before judiciary committee

Two Indiana attorneys — one who was once a softball umpire and one who once was a waiter and doorman for a Chicago restaurant — will be appearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Wednesday as nominees to the federal bench.

Holly Brady, attorney at Haller & Colvin P.C. in Fort Wayne, and James Patrick Hanlon, partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Indianapolis, are scheduled to testify as part of the second panel at the judiciary committee’s 10 a.m. hearing.

Brady has been nominated to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana, replacing Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, who took senior status in September 2017. Hanlon has been nominated to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana, replacing Judge William Lawrence, who will be taking senior status July 1, 2018.

Among their first jobs, Brady worked as a softball umpire for the RAM Softball League in Fort Wayne and Hanlon was a waiter and doorman for Butch McGuire’s in Chicago.

The American Bar Association has rated Hanlon as well qualified. It has not rated Brady.

Brady, a 1994 graduate of Valparaiso Law School, has worked solely in the private bar in Fort Wayne and focused on employment and labor law. She has represented both employees and employers, practicing in state and federal courts as well as representing clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

In her questionnaire to the committee, Brady stated she has tried 10 cases to verdict before either a judge or jury and she has tried about 10 cases to a final decision in arbitration.

Hanlon, a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of Valparaiso Law School, has worked in both the private and public sectors, handling criminal and civil cases. He clerked for Senior Judge Robert Miller, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and worked as assistant U.S. Attorney for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 2001 until 2006 when he joined Faegre Baker Daniels.

In Hanlon’s questionnaire to the committee, he stated he has tried 14 cases to verdict or judgment in federal district court and presented arguments at the federal appellate level. At Faegre, he has represented individuals and large companies in court and before various federal agencies. In recent years, his practice has focused more on internal and government investigations involving federal criminal statutes, compliance and regulatory issues.

As part of her pro bono work, Brady has served on many nonprofit boards and often provided legal counsel. She has also participated in the annual Martin Luther King “Ask A Lawyer” event and regularly speaks about the practice of law to middle school students.

Hanlon has represented indigent individuals at the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals and in the Southern Indiana District Court. Also, he is a volunteer attorney with the Midwest Immigration and Human Rights Center.

Both Brady and Hanlon were contacted and interviewed by Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, about the district court vacancies. Before being officially nominated by the White House, they each met with the staff of Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana.  

Brady met with representatives of Young about June 6, 2017, then met with White House officials June 22. She submitted an application for prospective judicial nominees for the Northern Indiana District of Indiana July 27, 2017. On December 16, 2017, she was notified that she had been selected as the preliminary candidate for the Van Bokkelen vacancy.  

Hanlon submitted an application in March 2017 for the upcoming Lawrence vacancy on the Southern Indiana District Court.  After interviewing with Young and his staff members in the spring of 2017, he met with White House attorneys in December 2017.