UNLV law professor nominated for federal judgeship

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Thursday, April 28, 2016 | 3:23 p.m.

Anne Rachel Traum, a law professor on leave from UNLV, has been nominated to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

The White House announced today that Traum was among eight people President Barack Obama nominated to serve on U.S. district courts. They must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

“Anne Traum is a superb lawyer and educator, and she will be an excellent addition to the U.S. District Court of Nevada,” said U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who recommended Traum to fill the vacancy.

Traum would replace Judge Robert Clive Jones, who recently shifted to senior status on the Reno bench.

Reid called Traum a “thoughtful and highly regarded jurist” and said her “dedication to the law and deep commitment to the community is exemplified through her extensive pro bono work and tireless efforts to provide counsel to those who need it.”

Traum joined the faculty at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law in 2008, but she took leave last year to serve as a special counsel in the Office for Access to Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Before that, she worked as an assistant federal public defender and an assistant U.S. attorney in Nevada and for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Traum received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, in 1996 and her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1991.

She is a member of Temple Sinai in Las Vegas and serves as a regional board member for the Anti-Defamation League.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.