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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Julie Rikelman to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is a highly skilled litigator with almost 25 years of experience in private practice, as in-house counsel, and in public interest law.

After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Ms. Rikelman clerked for Justice Dana Fabe on the Alaska Supreme Court and Judge Morton Greenberg on the Third Circuit. Ms. Rikelman then began her legal career as a Blackmun Fellow at the Center for Reproductive Rights--CRR--litigating reproductive rights cases around the country. In private practice, Ms. Rikelman has handled a wide range of civil and criminal cases, at both the trial and appellate level, including securities fraud, commercial breach of contract, State antitrust law, and election law. As an in-house attorney at NBC Universal, Ms. Rikelman litigated a variety of matters in Federal and State courts-- including defamation, intellectual property, and employment discrimination. In 2011, Ms. Rikelman returned to CRR to take on a more senior role litigating cases, as well as spearheading case strategy.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Rikelman has proven to be a skilled trial attorney and an accomplished appellate practitioner, arguing multiple appeals, including two before the U.S. Supreme Court. The American Bar Association unanimously rated Ms. Rikelman ``well qualified,'' and she has the strong support of her home State Senators: Ms. Warren and Mr. Markey. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting Ms. Rikelman's nomination.

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