M. Margaret McKeown

M. Margaret McKeown is a senior United States circuit judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Diego, California. Appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed to the bench in 1998, she has served continuously for more than two decades, first as an active‑service judge and later assuming senior status in 2022 while continuing to hear cases. Her career spans private practice, federal service, academia, and extensive involvement in judicial administration and ethics.

Early life and legal career

Born in 1951, McKeown grew up in Casper, Wyoming, where she completed her secondary education at Kelly Walsh High School in 1969. She pursued undergraduate studies abroad at the University of Madrid before returning to her home state to attend the University of Wyoming. There she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972. Following her undergraduate work, McKeown entered public service as an aide to Senator Clifford P. Hansen, an experience she later credited with sparking her interest in law.

She earned her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1975 and subsequently received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the same institution. After law school, McKeown embarked on a distinguished career in private practice. She joined Perkins Coie, where she became the firm’s first female partner both in its Seattle office and later in Washington, D.C. At Perkins Coie she founded the intellectual property practice and co‑established the Washington, D.C., office, focusing on complex litigation that included antitrust, trade regulation, and high‑technology matters. Her client roster featured major corporations such as Boeing, Nintendo, Amazon, and Citicorp.

From 1980 to 1981 McKeown served as a White House Fellow, working as Special Assistant to Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus and later as Special Assistant for domestic policy in the White House. Her leadership extended to professional organizations: she was president of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington and a founder and first co‑president of Washington Women Lawyers.

In addition to her practice, McKeown has maintained an active role in legal education. She holds the position of jurist‑in‑residence at the University of San Diego School of Law and has taught courses at Georgetown University Law Center, Northwestern University Law School, and the University of Washington School of Law. Her scholarly interests are reflected in a series of publications covering topics ranging from sex trafficking and constitutional law to judicial ethics and historical analyses of the Nineteenth Amendment. Notable articles include “The Lost Sanctuary: Examining Sex Trafficking Through the Lens of Ah Sou” (Cornell Journal of International Law, 2008) and “Politics and Judicial Ethics: A Historical Perspective” (Yale Law Journal Forum, 2021). She is also the author of a monograph on Justice William O. Douglas’s environmental legacy, published in 2022.

Federal appellate service

President Bill Clinton first nominated McKeown to the Ninth Circuit on March 29, 1996; after an initial return of the nomination, she was renominated on January 7, 1997. The United States Senate confirmed her by a vote of 80–11 on March 27, 1998, and she received her commission on April 8, 1998. During her tenure as an active judge, McKeown participated in numerous panels and authored more than six hundred opinions, reflecting the breadth of the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction over civil, criminal, and administrative matters.

McKeown announced her intention to assume senior status on January 12, 2022, contingent upon the confirmation of a successor. She formally entered senior status on September 15, 2022, but continues to sit on cases and contribute to the court’s work. Within the Ninth Circuit she has held leadership roles on several committees. She currently chairs both the Workplace Environment Committee and the Pacific Islands Committee. Her past service includes membership on the Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit, chairmanship of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, participation in the Ad Hoc Death Penalty Rules Committee, and direction of the Ninth Circuit Education Commission.

Beyond circuit‑level responsibilities, McKeown has been active in national judicial governance. She served as chair of the Judicial Conference of the United States Codes of Conduct Committee, which oversees ethical standards for federal judges, and remains a member of the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability. Her involvement with the American Bar Association includes chairing the Commission on the Nineteenth Amendment, leading the Standing Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements, and contributing to the ABA Commission that redrafted the Model Code of Judicial Ethics.

McKeown has also contributed to efforts aimed at improving workplace conditions within the federal judiciary. She chaired the Ninth Circuit’s Workplace Environment Committee, promoting respectful and inclusive environments for court staff and judges. In recognition of her expertise, Chief Justice John G. Roberts appointed her to the Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group, a body tasked with developing policies on conduct and harassment across the federal bench.

Her leadership extends to professional associations representing judges. She has served as president of both the Federal Judges Association and the San Diego Association of Business Trial Lawyers. Internationally, she participated on the Managerial Board of the International Association of Women Judges, reflecting her commitment to gender equity in the legal profession.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge McKeown’s judicial output demonstrates a consistent engagement with complex statutory interpretation, intellectual property law, and issues of procedural fairness. One notable en banc decision, *Skidmore as Trustee for Randy Craig Wolfe v. Led Zeppelin* (2020), featured her authoring the majority opinion that clarified the scope of copyright protection under the Copyright Act of 1909. The opinion held that the statutory deposit copy limited the extent of protected expression, thereby influencing how courts assess claims of substantial similarity in music plagiarism cases.

Statistical data from December 2014 through August 2020 indicate that McKeown sat on an en banc panel twenty‑nine times and was part of the majority in each instance. This record underscores her influence in shaping the Ninth Circuit’s collective jurisprudence during a period marked by significant legal developments across the western United States.

Beyond case law, McKeown’s legacy includes substantial contributions to judicial administration and ethics. Her work on the Codes of Conduct Committee helped modernize ethical guidelines for federal judges, addressing emerging concerns such as social media use, financial disclosures, and recusal standards. Through her publications on transparency, recusal, and workplace conduct, she has provided scholarly insight that informs both academic discourse and practical policy within the judiciary.

In academia, McKeown’s role as jurist‑in‑residence and her teaching appointments have allowed her to mentor law students and young attorneys, bridging theoretical instruction with real‑world judicial experience. Her interdisciplinary scholarship—ranging from analyses of constitutional issues in the digital age to historical examinations of women’s suffrage—reflects a broad intellectual curiosity that enriches legal education.

Judge McKeown’s involvement with professional organizations dedicated to improving the legal system and supporting women judges further amplifies her impact beyond the courtroom. By leading initiatives on workplace environment, ethics, and judicial improvement, she has helped shape a more accountable and inclusive federal judiciary.

Overall, M. Margaret McKeown’s career embodies a blend of high‑profile private practice, dedicated public service, scholarly contribution, and administrative leadership. Her continued activity as a senior judge ensures that her experience remains an active component of the Ninth Circuit’s decision‑making process, while her broader work in ethics, education, and professional advocacy contributes to the ongoing evolution of the United States federal judiciary.