District Judge Mary M. Rowland was appointed to the Northern District of Illinois by President Donald J. Trump in 2019, as part of an agreement between the Trump administration and Illinois' Democratic U.S. Senators.
Judge Rowland was born on October 8, 1961, in Akron, Ohio. After law school, she clerked for Judge Julian A. Cook of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She then served for ten years in the Chicago office of the Federal Defender as a staff attorney and later chief appellate attorney. She spent twelve years as a partner at Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym in Chicago. She served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from October 2012 to August 2019 before being elevated to district judge.
Education
- University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1988
- University of Michigan, B.A., 1984
Career
- District Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (2019–present)
- U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Illinois (2012–2019)
- Partner, Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym, Chicago (approximately 2000–2012)
- Chief Appellate Attorney and Staff Attorney, Federal Defender Program, Chicago (approximately 1990–2000)
- Law Clerk, Hon. Julian A. Cook, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan