The Federal Courthouse in Lawton, Oklahoma

Jodi Dishman, an Oklahoma City based attorney, is Trump’s fourth pick for the Western District of Oklahoma, and will be the first woman appointed to the court after twenty five years.

Background

Dishman was born Jodi Marie Warmbrod in Memphis, TN in 1979.  Dishman attended Southern Methodist University, where she served as Student Body President.^[1]  Dishman then attended the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude.^[2]  After graduation, Dishman clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for Judges Carolyn Dineen King and Edward Prado.

After her clerkships, Dishman joined the San Antonio office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as an Associate.  She become Counsel in 2010.  In 2012, she moved to Oklahoma City to join McAfee & Taft, where she became a Shareholder in 2014.  It is a position she currently holds.

History of the Seat

Dishman has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.  Judge Vicki Miles-LeGrange, who was the first African American appointed to this court when she joined in 1994, vacated this seat on November 5, 2018.  Dishman had previously interviewed with Oklahoma Senators in January 2017 to fill one of three other vacancies on the Western District, but was not selected.^[3]  After Judges Miles-LeGrange moved to senior status, Dishman again expressed her interest.^[4]  After another interview with an advisory committee set up by the senators, Dishman was selected as the nominee.

Legal Experience

Whether at Akin Gump or at McAfee & Taft, Dishman’s career has focused on commercial litigation.  Dishman has tried three cases as chief counsel and one as associate counsel in her career.^[5]  The most prominent of these involved a lawsuit against an insurance company (her client) alleging that they breached their agreement in failing to make needed claim payments.^[6]  Dishman also represented the company on appeal after a split verdict from the jury.

In another notable case, Dishman represented the Oklahoma City Landfill, LLC in a class action case by property owners who alleged that the landfill interfered with their properties.^[7]  The case eventually settled.  

Overall Assessment

While most of Trump’s Oklahoma nominees have been fairly controversial, it’s unlikely that Dishman will be one of them.  While she is very young, Dishman has cut their teeth on some fairly complex cases, and, at forty, Dishman is the same age as the judge she will be replacing, Judge Miles-LeGrange, was at the time of her nomination.