Federal Circuit judge Arthur Gajarsa’s announcement that he will assume senior status July 31 leaves one more vacancy on the 12-member panel of the top US IP court.
Gajarsa was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, following ten years at Joseph Gajarsa McDermott & Reiner in Washington, DC.
His senior status marks the fourth recent vacancy at the court, which has seen its largest turnover since 1990. Judges Alvin Schall and Haldane Robert Mayer assumed senior status in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Former chief judge Paul Michel retired in May 2010. The nomination for his replacement, WilmerHale partner Edward DuMont, is still pending.
Two vacancies were filled when President Barack Obama appointed Kathleen O’Malley in 2010 and Jimmie Reyna in 2011.
Judge Daniel Friedman, appointed to the court by President Jimmy Carter and a senior member of the court since 1989, died early this month.