President Obama nominated Elizabeth J. Drake, Jennifer Choe Groves, and Justice Gary Stephen Katzmann to serve on the United States Court of International Trade.

“I am proud to nominate these outstanding candidates to serve on the Court of International Trade,” said President Obama.  “I am confident that they will serve the American people with integrity and distinction.”

Elizabeth J. Drake:  Nominee for the United States Court of International Trade

Elizabeth J. Drake is currently a partner in the law firm of Stewart and Stewart, where her practice focuses on international trade law matters and where she advises clients on disputes before the World Trade Organization.  In addition to practicing before the court to which she has been nominated, Drake also practices before the United States Department of Commerce, the United States International Trade Commission, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Previously, from 1999 to 2005, she worked as an international policy analyst at the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), where she advocated for workers’ rights in trade and international economic policies.  In addition, she has served on the Labor Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations to the United States Trade Representative.  Drake received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1999 and her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996. 

Jennifer Choe Groves:  Nominee for the United States Court of International Trade

Jennifer Choe Groves is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Titanium Law Group PLLC and Choe Groves Consulting LLC, where she provides legal and consulting services in the areas of international trade and intellectual property.  Previously, she was a partner at the law firms of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC from 2012 to 2013 and Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP from 2010 to 2011.  From 2005 to 2010, Groves served as the Senior Director of Intellectual Property and Innovation in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the Executive Office of the President.  During her time at USTR, she also served as chair of the Special 301 Committee, where she led the interagency committee’s decision-making on international trade policy and intellectual property protection.  Prior to joining USTR, Groves was Counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP from 2001 to 2005 and an associate at Fish & Neave LLP (now Ropes & Gray LLP) from 1998 to 2001.  She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1994 to 1997.  Groves received her LL.M from Columbia Law School in 1998, her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law – Newark in 1994, and her A.B. from Princeton University in 1991.      

Justice Gary Stephen Katzmann:  Nominee for the United States Court of International Trade

Justice Gary Stephen Katzmann has served as an Associate Justice on the Massachusetts Appeals Court since 2004, adjudicating civil and criminal matters.  From 1983 to 2004, he served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, including as Chief Appellate Attorney, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Chief Legal Counsel to the United States Attorney.  While at the United States Attorney’s Office, Justice Katzmann was detailed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1994 to 1995 and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General from 1993 to 1994.  From 1981 to 1983, he worked at Harvard Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice as a research associate and special investigator.  He began his legal career as a law clerk, first to the Honorable Leonard B. Sand of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1979 to 1980 and subsequently to the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer, then of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, from 1980 to 1981.  Justice Katzmann received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, his M.P.P.M. from the Yale School of Organization and Management in 1979, his M.Litt. from the University of Oxford in 1976, and his A.B. summa cum laude from Columbia College in 1973.