The relationship between New York’s Democratic senators and the Trump Administration has often been tense and combative.  This has occasionally manifested itself in conflicts over New York’s federal bench.  However, the nomination of Jennifer Rearden should be a point of agreement from all sides.

Background

50-year-old Jennifer Hutchison Rearden received her B.A. from Yale University in 1992 and a J.D. in 1996 from New York University School of Law.  After law school, Hutchison joined Davis Polk & Wardwell, before moving to the Atlanta office of King & Spalding.  Since 2003, Rearden has been a Partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York City.

History of the Seat

Reardon has been nominated to the vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated on October 25, 2018 by Judge Richard Sullivan’s elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Political Activity

Rearden has been an active political donor, having made over thirty political contributions over the last thirteen years.^[1]  While Rearden has given to politicians of both parties (her Republican donees include Rudolph Giuliani and Chris Christie), most of her donations have been to Democrats.^[2]  She has contributed particularly to female Democratic senators and senate candidates, giving them almost $12000 in the 2016 cycle.^[3]

Legal Career

Rearden has spent her entire career in private practice, working at various big law firms as a commercial litigator.  Specifically, Rearden has handled a number of complex commercial cases, including matters related to tax, contract, and compliance matters.^[4]

Among her more prominent cases, Rearden represented Philip Morris Inc. and other tobacco companies in a suit against the City of New York challenging the City’s regulation of tobacco prices.^[5]  She also represented Home Depot in an Arizona suit involving tax deductions.^[6]

Notably, Rearden argued in New York State Court a suit seeking Worker’s Compensation benefits for an employee’s domestic partner (through a civil union).^[7]  The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court found, in a divided opinion, that statutory provisions supporting worker’s compensation benefits for surviving spouses did not cover partners in a civil union.^[8]

Writings

Rearden has been a fairly prolific author, frequently writing articles on various legal issues, including issues of civil practice, procedure, and substantive law.

For example, Rearden has written on the Columbia Pictures v. Bunnell ruling in the Central District of California, which held that random access memory (RAM) could be discoverable material that needed to be preserved in preparation for litigation.^[9]  She has similarly expounded on a similar decision by Judge Shira Scheindlin on production of metadata during discovery.^[10] 

Overall Assessment

With both the Trump Administration and New York Democrats behind her candidacy, Rearden is likely to sail through the confirmation process.  Barring objections from Republican senators, Rearden is likely to be confirmed comfortably.

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