---
title: "Thomas L. Ambro | KnowJudges"
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# Thomas L. Ambro

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third 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 Third Circuit, 2000-present
- As of 2023, Ambro serves as a Senior Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, continuing to hear cases in his retired capacity
- From 1976 to 2000, Ambro practiced law in Wilmington, Delaware, at Richards, Layton & Finger, where he led the firm’s bankruptcy practice and was instrumental in establishing Delaware as a leading venue for large Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
- Law clerk, Hon. Daniel L. Herrmann, Delaware Supreme Court, 1975-1976
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

### Education

- Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center, respectively — J.D. (1975)
- Georgetown University — B.A. (1971)

### Additional information

- Senior Status: Assumed February 6, 2023.
- Confirmed: February 10, 2000, by the Senate, 96–2.
- Commissioned: February 16, 2000.
- Private practice, Wilmington, DE, 1976-2000
- Nominated: September 29, 1999, by President Bill Clinton to fill the seat vacated by Walter K. Stapleton.
- Thomas Lee Ambro was born December 27, 1949, in Cambridge, Ohio.
- Date of birth: 1949-01-01
- After law school, he clerked for Chief Justice Daniel L. Herrmann of the Delaware Supreme Court.
- He also held the role of Chair of the Section of Business Law of the American Bar Association, Editor of The Business Lawyer, and for 20 years chaired the Committee on the Uniform Commercial Code for the Delaware State Bar Association.
- Birth place: Cambridge, OH

## 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/1391086)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391086)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391086)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/94/thomas-l-ambro/)
- [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/94/thomas-l-ambro/)
- [Wikidata: Thomas L. Ambro](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7791621)

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