Brooklyn Boro

New federal judges appointed for Eastern, Southern districts

Hon. Natasha Merle has long history with NAACP Legal Defense Fund

January 19, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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On Wednesday, President Joe Biden nominated Natasha Merle to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, headquartered in Brooklyn, and Jennifer Rearden to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

U.S. Sen Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) recommended Ms. Merle and Ms. Rearden to President Biden last year. 

“I am proud and honored that President Biden has nominated Ms. Merle to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York,” said Gillibrand. “An exceptionally qualified and dedicated attorney, Ms. Merle has devoted her career to advancing equal justice. Ms. Merle has a deep understanding of federal law and a demonstrated commitment to civil rights. I urge the Senate to act swiftly on her confirmation.” 

Natasha C. Merle has served as deputy director of litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. since 2021. She previously served as assistant counsel and then senior counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. from 2016 to 2021. 

Natasha Merle, nominee for federal district judge in the Eastern District of New York, headquartered in Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of NAACP Legal Defense Fund

From 2013 to 2015, she was a litigation associate and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Fellow at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York. From 2011 to 2012, Merle was an assistant federal public defender at the Office of the Federal Public Defender, and from 2009 to 2011, Merle was a staff attorney at the Gulf Region Advocacy Center. 

She served as a law clerk for Judge John Gleeson on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn from 2012 to 2013. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Robert L. Carter on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2008 to 2009. 

Merle received her J.D., cum laude, from the New York University School of Law in 2008 and her B.A., with honors, from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005.

Jennifer H. Rearden has been a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP since 2006. She is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Litigation and Crisis Management Practice Groups and formerly a Co-Chair of the Firm’s Electronic Discovery and Information Law Practice Group. She was an associate at the firm from 2003 to 2005. 

From 1998 to 2003, Ms. Rearden was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and from 1996 to 1998, she was an associate at King & Spalding LLP. Ms. Rearden’s pro bono practice has included work to protect LGBTQ, immigrant, and reproductive rights. 

She received her J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 1996 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University in 1992.

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