Nancy Gertner

Nancy Gertner
Gertner at the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service in 2012.
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office May 22, 2011 – September 1, 2011
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office February 14, 1994 – May 22, 2011
Nominated by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	A. David Mazzone
Succeeded by	Timothy S. Hillman
Personal details
Born	(1946-05-22) May 22, 1946 (age 70) New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Barnard College Yale University Yale Law School

Nancy Gertner (born May 22, 1946) is a former United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She assumed senior status on May 22, 2011, and retired outright from the federal bench on September 1, 2011. She is now a professor at Harvard Law School.

Gertner was born in New York City and grew up in Flushing, New York, where she was a cheerleader, a member of the staff of her high school's literary magazine, runner-up for homecoming queen, and valedictorian of her class. Gertner received her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College in 1967 and a Master of Arts and a Juris Doctor from Yale University in 1971. While attending Yale, Gertner became friends with Hillary Rodham and met Bill Clinton.

Gertner began her legal career in 1971 as a law clerk for Judge Luther Swygert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Between 1972 and 1994, she practiced law in and around the Greater Boston area, during which she also taught at Boston University School of Law and was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. During this period, Gertner was notable for being a supporter of liberalism and feminist ideals, wearing bright red clothes in court, carrying her legal briefs in shopping bags and keeping files on lawyers and judges she felt to be sexist.