Biography
Thomas M. Durkin became a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on January 14, 2013, having been nominated by President Barack Obama on May 21, 2012. Judge Durkin received a JD degree with honors from DePaul University College of Law in 1978 and a BS degree in accounting with honors from the University of Illinois in 1975. Following graduation from DePaul University, Judge Durkin served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley J. Roszkowski of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1978 to 1980. After his clerkship, Judge Durkin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago from 1980 to 1993, where he held positions as First Assistant US Attorney, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division, Chief of the Criminal Receiving and Appellate Division, and Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division. While an Assistant United States Attorney he tried over 50 jury trials. Before taking the bench, Judge Durkin was a partner in the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP from 1993 to 2013, specializing in complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, and internal investigations. He served on the Board of the Legal Assistance Foundation from 1999 to 2008. He has been a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2000. He was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts in 2015 to the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States.