J. Paul Oetken

James Paul Oetken (born October 1, 1965), known professionally as J. Paul Oetken, is a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He is the first openly gay man to serve on the federal bench.

Early life and education

Oetken was born in 1965 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was valedictorian and class president at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1988 from the University of Iowa and a law degree in 1991 from Yale Law School.

From 1991 until 1992, Oetken served as a law clerk for Judge Richard Cudahy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and from 1992 until 1993, he served as a law clerk to Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. From 1993 until 1994, Oetken served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Harry Blackmun on the United States Supreme Court.

Professional career

From 1994 until 1996 or 1997, Oetken worked as an associate with the law firm of Jenner & Block. In 1997, he joined the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice as an attorney-advisor, where he worked until becoming an Associate Counsel to the President of the United States in the office of the White House Counsel in 1999. He held that job until President Bill Clinton left office in 2001.