Alison J Nathan

Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia, Nathan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994 from Cornell University and then earned a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Cornell Law School in 2000. At Cornell, she was a member of the Quill and Dagger society and editor-in-chief of the Cornell Law Review.

Professional career

From 2000 until 2001, Nathan served as a law clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Betty Binns Fletcher. From 2001 until 2002, Nathan served as a law clerk for Associate Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2002 until 2006, Nathan served as an associate in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. From 2006 until 2008, Nathan served as a visiting associate professor of law at Fordham University School of Law. From 2008 until 2009, Nathan served as a fellow at New York University School of Law. From 2009 until 2010, Nathan served as a special assistant to President Barack Obama and also as Associate White House Counsel. Since 2010 until her appointment as a United States District Judge, Nathan worked in the office of the Attorney General of New York as a special counsel to the state's Solicitor General.

Federal judicial service

On March 31, 2011, President Obama nominated Nathan to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to replace Judge Sidney H. Stein, who took senior status in 2010. The United States Senate confirmed Nathan in a 48–44 vote on October 13, 2011. She received her judicial commission on October 17, 2011.

Notable case

In 2014, Nathan banned Aereo from streaming live TV to devices.

Personal

Nathan and her partner, New York University School of Law Associate Professor of Clinical Law, Margaret (Meg) Satterthwaite, are parents to twin sons.