Harold D. Pope Appointed to the ABA Federal Judiciary Committee for Sixth Circuit

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that the American Bar Association (ABA) appointed Harold D. Pope to serve a three-year term on its Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary representing the Sixth Circuit federal courts. The Sixth Circuit compromises Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

For more than 60 years, the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has carried out an important role with respect to Presidential judicial nominees by evaluating the professional qualifications of Article III nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States, United States circuit courts of appeals, United States district courts, and the Court of International Trade; and Article IV nominees to the territorial district courts for the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Committee does not propose, recommend or endorse candidates for nomination to the federal judiciary, as doing so would compromise its independent evaluative function.

The Committee consists of 15 members. Appointment to the Committee is based on a lawyer’s possession of the highest professional stature and integrity, and members have varied professional experiences and backgrounds. According to the Committee, in conducting its evaluation of each prospective nominee it focuses strictly on professional qualifications such as integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament. The Committee does not consider a prospective nominee’s philosophy, political affiliation or ideology.

The Committee’s objective is to provide impartial peer-review evaluations of the professional qualifications of prospective judicial nominees in order to assist the White House in assessing whether such individuals should be nominated to the federal judiciary. The Committee’s performance of its historic role in the evaluation process helps ensure that the most qualified persons serve on the federal judiciary. The Committee submits its final rating to the White House, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. Department of Justice to assist in the confirmation process. The Committee’s performance of its historic role in the evaluation process helps ensure that the most qualified persons serve on the federal judiciary.

Pope is a litigator and has extensive experience representing local and national companies in State and Federal Courts on matters regarding commercial, products liability, defense of sex, age and race discrimination claims, personal injury, franchise termination and disputes over exclusive market areas, disputes between automotive suppliers and manufacturers, construction claims, general contract, small corporation disputes, professional malpractice, and directors’ and officers’ liability. His experience includes the dismissal and resolution of several multimillion-dollar commercial disputes.

Throughout his career, Pope has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Bar Association’s C. Francis Stradford Award, the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award, the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association Trailblazer Award, the Wolverine Bar Association’s Damon J. Keith Community Service Award, and the National Bar Association Commercial Law Section’s Cora T. Walker Legacy Award.

Pope earned a J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Concordia College. He is also a Member of the Concordia College Board of Regents.