Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a nomination hearing that includes one circuit court pick, intellectual property litigator Tiffany P. Cunningham, who was nominated by President Biden on April 19 for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
A native of Detroit, Cunningham graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in chemical engineering in 1998 and from Harvard Law School in 2001. From 2001 to 2002, she clerked for Judge Timothy B. Dyk on the Federal Circuit.
Following her clerkship, she practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis’ Chicago office, becoming a partner in 2007. In 2014, she joined Perkins Coie in Chicago, where she currently sits on the firm’s executive committee.
Cunningham’s practice over the years has included both trial and appellate work for a number of individual and corporate clients dealing with patent and trade secret issues. She has logged over 40 appearances in district court and eight before the Federal Circuit. A registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, her work has encompassed the fields of biotechnology, computer science, automotive and mechanical engineering, and chemical and pharmaceutical disciplines.
Cunningham donated to the campaigns of Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has been active in several bar associations.