Distinguished law school graduates confirmed to the federal bench

Two Tulane Law graduates have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the federal bench in key appointments, including one that makes history as the first Black woman to serve in her circuit.

Nancy Gbana Abudu (L’99) was confirmed May 17 by the U.S. Senate to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, becoming the first African-American woman to serve on the court.

Tulane Law alumna Orelia Merchant (L'98) was confirmed in early May to an open seat in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

Both were part of one of the most diverse rosters of judicial picks by the Biden administration and both were the subject of delays by a sharply divided U.S. Senate.

“We are so proud of Judges Abudu, Merchant, and all of our Tulane alumni who serve as members of the judiciary," said Interim Law Dean Sally Richardson. "Judges Abudu and Merchant have both had such dynamic legal careers and each possesses a brilliant legal acumen. They are both true public servants who will make great additions to the federal bench and represent the high quality of Tulane Law alumni.”

Abudu, the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, won confirmation by a 49-47 vote. She is formerly the deputy legal director and interim director for strategic litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center and is an expert on voting rights. A civil rights lawyer, she was previously the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Abudu's confirmation is historic. She is the first Black woman to serve on the court, which hears cases from Florida, Georgia and Alabama. She also would be just the third Black judge to serve, and the first person of color to sit on the court and assigned cases from Georgia. Early in her career, Abudu served as a staff attorney for the 11th Circuit.

Abudu, who grew up in Virginia, attended Columbia University and later Tulane Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor.

Merchant was confirmed by a 51-48 vote in early May, and was formerly New York’s chief deputy attorney general for state counsel, and previously worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.

 In her role as New York’s chief deputy attorney general, she was a member of the New York State Attorney General’s executive leadership team, overseeing seven bureaus statewide that handled litigation involving the state, including its agencies and officials. She supervised 8,000 active cases statewide, and 450 employees, including 250 attorneys, in both prosecution and defense of state actors and actions.

Merchant received her J.D. from Tulane Law, where she worked in the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic and was among a group of students who took on the cause of Black residents in Convent, La., who suffered health impacts from chemical plants in their community. She received her master's from the College of William and Mary in marine science and her bachelor's degree from Dillard University in physics and mathematics.