--- title: "M. Margaret McKeown | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/m-margaret-mckeown" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # M. Margaret McKeown U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1998-present - Notable works include Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of Justice William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion (2022) and numerous law journal articles on technology, ethics, and gender equality - Judge McKeown has taught as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, Northwestern University School of Law, the University of Washington School of Law, and is jurist-in-residence at the University of San Diego School of Law - Before her judicial appointment, McKeown was the first female partner at the law firm Perkins Coie in Seattle and co-founded its Washington, D.C. office. ### Education - Georgetown University Law Center in and later received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Georgetown University — J.D. (1975) - University of Wyoming in, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and studied at the University of Madrid — B.A. (1972) ### Additional information - She assumed senior status on September 15, 2022. - received her commission on April 8, 1998. - Private practice, Seattle, WA, 1975-1998 - President Bill Clinton nominated McKeown to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1996 and renominated her in 1997. - Special assistant to the secretary of the interior and special assistant at the White House, 1980-1981 - Mary Margaret McKeown was born on May 11, 1951, in Casper, Wyoming, and graduated from Kelly Walsh High School in 1969. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - representing major clients such as Boeing, Nintendo, Amazon, and Citicorp. - She is also an affiliated scholar at Stanford University’s Center for the American West. - She specialized in intellectual property, antitrust, trade regulation, and complex litigation - She also held the role of a White House Fellow, working as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior and for domestic policy at the White House. - During her tenure, she has chaired the Ninth Circuit Workplace Environment Committee and the Pacific Islands Committee, and served on multiple judicial ethics and conduct committees. - She has published extensively on topics including intellectual property, judicial ethics, international law, and human rights. - Birth place: Casper, WY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390641) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390641) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390641) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2157/mary-margaret-mckeown/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2157/mary-margaret-mckeown/) - [Wikidata: M. Margaret McKeown](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6712888) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/m-margaret-mckeown", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/m-margaret-mckeown", "name": "M. Margaret McKeown | KnowJudges", "description": "M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/m-margaret-mckeown#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/m-margaret-mckeown#judge", "name": "M. 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