---
title: "Heather K. McShain | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/heather-k-mcshain"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Heather K. McShain

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- State: Illinois
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Biography

### Professional career

- U.S. Magistrate Judge appointed in 2020 to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, with a background in federal prosecution, legal academia, and judicial clerkship
- Assistant United States District Attorney, District Court, N.D. Illinois, IL, 2010-2020
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, District Court, S.D. New York, NY, 2002-2010
- Judge William Lee, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Judge Robert Cowen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Law Clerk to)
- McShain is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame School of Law

### Education

- University of Notre Dame — J.D. (1999)
- Mathematics — University of Notre Dame — 1996
- in Mathematics — University of Notre Dame — B.S.

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, N.D. Illinois, IL, 2020-present
- Sworn in as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on May 1, 2020, serving on a renewable eight‐year term.
- adj-prof, University of Notre Dame, ?-present
- Practitioner, Jones Day, Washington, DC, ?-present

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=McShain)
- [Official roster](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=McShain)
- [U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois current judicial profile](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=McShain)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15379/heather-k-mcshain/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15379/heather-k-mcshain/)
- [Official United States court source; CourtListener / Free Law Project judicial profile or roster](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=McShain)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.