Manish Shah

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Manish Shah
	Court: Northern District of Illinois
Progress
	Confirmed 223 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 19, 2013
	ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 13, 2013
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 16, 2014
	Confirmed: April 30, 2014
	Vote: 95-0

Manish Shah is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to joining the court, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. On September 19, 2013, he was nominated by President Barack Obama to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[1] The United States Senate confirmed Shah on April 30, 2014 on a vote of 95-0.^[2]

Education

Shah earned his B.A., with honors and distinction, from Stanford University in 1994 and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago School of Law.^[1]

Professional career

2001-2014: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois

2012-2014: Chief of Criminal Division
2011-2012: Chief of Criminal Appeals
2008-2011: Deputy Chief of the Financial Crimes & Special Prosecutions Section
2007-2008: Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section
2004-2007: Assistant United States Attorney, Public Corruption
2003-2004: Assistant United States Attorney, Narcotics & Gangs
2001-2003: Assistant United States Attorney, General Crimes

1999-2001: Law clerk, Hon. James B. Zagel, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
1998-1999: Associate, Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe, San Francisco, California^[1]^[3]

Judicial career

Northern District of Illinois

On September 19, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Manish Shah to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that was vacated by Joan Lefkow, who took senior status. The President had this to say about the nominations,

“

These men and women have had distinguished legal careers and I am honored to ask them to continue their work as judges on the federal bench... They will serve the American people with integrity and an unwavering commitment to justice.^[1]^[4]

”

The American Bar Association rated Shah Well Qualified by a substantial majority and Qualified by a minority with one member recusing themselves.^[5]

Shah's nomination was returned by the Senate on January 3, 2014, and he was renominated on January 6th by President Obama.^[6] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 30, 2014 by a vote of 95-0.^[2]

Reactions to confirmation

“	He's the most experienced prosecutor we have, and I will continue to work with Senator Durbin to make sure we have highly-skilled candidates like Shah to help strengthen our courts and clean up Illinois. Manish Shah has served with distinction as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and he will bring a wealth of knowledge and legal acumen to the federal bench in Northern Illinois. ^[4]	”
—Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), ^[7]

Awards and associations

Awards

2008: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director's Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation
2007: Executive Office of United States Attorneys Director's Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team
2002: United States Customs Service, Letter of Recognition