Biography
Judge Chen is a 1979 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He served on the California Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. After clerking for U.S. District Judge Charles B. Renfrew and U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge James R. Browning, he practiced as a litigation associate with the law firm of Coblentz, Cahen, McCabe & Breyer. He joined the legal staff of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California in 1985 where he served until joining the Court in 2001. From 2001 to 2011, Judge Chen served as a federal Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California. Judge Chen was first nominated by President Obama to the U.S. District Court on August 6, 2009. After a lengthy confirmation process, Judge Chen was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2011. In addition to his judicial duties, Judge Chen has participated and led judicial seminars on mediation, employment, intellectual property, civil rights, access to justice, and case management. He has also led judicial seminars in Mexico, Malaysia, India, and Trinidad on case management, alternative dispute resolution and digital copyrights, and has served as a member of court committees dealing with access to justice and judicial education. Judge Chen has served on the Ninth Circuit’s Task Force and Self-Represented Litigants and chaired its Implementation Committee. He currently serves on the Circuit’s Fairness Committee and on the FJC’s District Judges Education Advisory Committee.