Colby Kingsbury Discusses Judge Choudhury’s Confirmation With Law360

In “1st Female Muslim Federal Judge To Be ‘Star’ On Bench,” business litigation partner Colby Kingsbury spoke to Law360 about U.S. District Judge Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, who was confirmed as the nation’s first female Muslim federal judge.

Judge Choudhury’s confirmation is significant since she has focused her legal career on civil rights, an unusual resume for a federal judge, according to Kingsbury. “It’s important that there are different viewpoints and approaches coming to the bench and not always just people who were assistant U.S. attorneys or prosecutors,” she said. Judge Choudhury’s confirmation is “a good reflection of perhaps Congress’ understanding that it’s important to have diversity at all levels on the bench,” Kingsbury stated.

Regarding Judge Choudhury’s previous role as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU), Kingsbury explained that litigation required her to manage a lot of information very quickly when they worked together on several cases. Judge Choudhury helped Kingsbury’s team navigate an everchanging court landscape created by the pandemic as well as coordinate and share experts with the national ACLU. “I was just frankly amazed,” Kingsbury said of Judge Choudhury’s ability to juggle those tasks.

“She was mighty. She just stepped in, and I never saw her get tired. She was always thinking, always on top of things, always trying to think of creative ideas as to how to get things done because everything just required so much coordination,” Kingsbury commented. “She was just exactly what you would want in a partner,” Kingsbury added. She concluded that Judge Choudhury always brought her in on the decision-making in their cases and made sure to provide opportunities for associates to sharpen their skills.

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