Paul Jeffrey Watford is a litigator and currently a nominee to a federal judgeship. On October 17, 2011 President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 nominated Watford to a federal judicial seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...

.

Early life and career

Watford was born and raised in Orange County, California

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

. In 1989 he received a B.A. in 1989 from the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 and in 1994 his J.D. in 1994 from the UCLA School of Law

UCLA School of Law

The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...

, where he graduated Order of the Coif

Order of the Coif

The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...

. Watford also served as an editor of the UCLA Law Review.

In 1994 he served as a law clerk

Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...

 to Judge Alex Kozinski

Alex Kozinski

Alex Kozinski is Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, an essayist, and a judicial commentator.-Biography:...

 of the Ninth Circuit and from 1995 to 1996 he clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...

 of the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

. In 1996 he joined the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson

Munger, Tolles & Olson

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is a California law firm that has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Charles Munger founded the firm in 1962 with six other lawyers.-Legal practice:...

. In 1997 Watford became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California prosecuting a wide range of federal criminal cases. In 2000 he joined the Los Angeles law firm Sidley Austin

Sidley Austin

Sidley Austin LLP, formerly known as Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, is one of the oldest law firms in the world. It is the sixth-largest U.S.-based corporate law firm with more than 1,650 lawyers, annual revenues of more than one billion dollars, and offices in 17 cities worldwide, with the most...

but he returned to Munger in 2001, where he became partner in 2003. Watford also served as a lecturer in law from 2007 to 2009 at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

's Gould School of Law, where he taught an upper-level course in judicial opinion writing.

Nomination to federal appeals court

On October 17, 2011, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Watford to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. If confirmed, he would fill the seat that had been held by Judge Pamela Ann Rymer

Pamela Ann Rymer

Pamela Ann Rymer was a United States federal judge.Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Rymer earned an A.B. from Vassar College in 1961 and an LL.B. from Stanford Law School in 1964. She was Director of Political Research and Analysis for the Goldwater for President Committee in 1964...

, who died September 21, 2011.