Paul Redmond Michel (born February 3, 1941) is a retired United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal cou ...

and a former

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of that court.

Education and experience

Born on February 3, 1941,>Joint Committee on Printing, ''Official Congressional Directory, 2009-2010'' (2010), p. 848. in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to Lincoln M. and Dorothy, Michel was educated in public schools in Wayne, Pennsylvania and Radnor, Pennsylvania. Michel received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1963 from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1966 from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. He was assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

in the Office of the Deputy District Attorney for Investigations in Philadelphia from 1966 to 1974, as well as a Second Lieutenant in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...

from 1966 to 1972. From 1974 to 1975 he was the Assistant

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...

Special Prosecutor, and from 1975 to 1976 was assistant counsel to the

United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government ...

. He then became the deputy chief and

Koreagate "Koreagate" was an American political scandal in 1976 involving South Korean political figures seeking influence from 10 Democratic members of Congress. The scandal involved the uncovering of evidence that the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (K ...

prosecutor for the Public Integrity Section of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

from 1976 to 1978. Michel became an Associate Deputy United States Attorney General in 1978, and in 1981 became counsel and administrative assistant to

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

until his judicial appointment. He has also been adjunct faculty at the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of co ...

and John Marshall Law School since 1991.

Federal judicial service

Michel was nominated to the

by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

on December 19, 1987 to fill a seat vacated by Judge Phillip Baldwin. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmed Michel's nomination on February 29, 1988, and he received his commission on March 4, 1988, taking the oath and commencing service on March 8, 1988. He served as Chief Judge from 2004 to 2010. Michel retired on May 31, 2010. Judge

Randall Ray Rader Randall Ray Rader (born April 21, 1949) is a former United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Early life, education, and career Born in Hastings, Nebraska, Rader received a ...

succeeded him as Chief Judge.

Publications

He authored ''Patent Litigation and Strategy'' with fellow Federal Circuit Judge

Kimberly Ann Moore Kimberly Ann Moore (née Pace; born June 15, 1968) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Early life and education Moore was born in Haletho ...

and

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...

Ralph Lupo. He has also written several articles on effective advocacy and the work of the Federal Circuit.

Personal

Michel was once married to Elizabeth Morgan. Morgan achieved international notoriety when she served over two years in jail rather than disclose the whereabouts of her child, during a custody dispute in which Morgan accused her previous husband of sexually molesting the child. In the made for TV-movie about Elizabeth Morgan's case,

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films '' The Day After Tomorrow'', ''Adoration'', '' S ...

played the role of Michel. Michel has been married to Brooke England since 2004. He has two adult children.

References

External links

*
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judicial Biographies

Interview with Paul Michel in ''Managing Intellectual Property''

Interview with Paul Michel by Matthew J. Dowd

Intellectual Property Watch Interview With Chief Judge Paul R. Michel On US Patent Reform on 14 July 2011

Article in IPWatchdog: "Torpedoing Patent Rights," Posted: July 10, 2011

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Paul Redmond 1941 births 20th-century American judges Living people Williams College alumni George Washington University Law School faculty John Marshall Law School (Chicago) faculty Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Lawyers from Philadelphia United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Virginia School of Law alumni