On January 26, 2018, Chief Judge Lynn swore in the Northern District of Texas’ newest magistrate judge, Rebecca Rutherford. According to the Northern District’s News Release (available here):
Judge Rutherford graduated in 1993, summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors in the Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University. Judge Rutherford is certified by the state of Texas to teach English, Reading, and History, and she taught middle school Language Arts in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD before attending law school. Judge Rutherford attended SMU School of Law from 1995 to 1998, where she was a member of the Barristers, an Articles Editor for the SMU Law Review Association, and a student attorney in the SMU Civil Clinic. Judge Rutherford graduated second in her class, magna cum laude, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Following law school, Judge Rutherford worked as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable A. Joe Fish, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, and then joined Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas. As an Associate in the Real Estate Section at Thompson & Knight, Judge Rutherford represented individual and institutional clients in various real estate transactions and real estate related litigation matters. Judge Rutherford returned to the Northern District of Texas in 2004. She worked as a career judicial law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judges Jeff Kaplan, Paul D. Stickney, and David L. Horan. From 2015 to 2017, Judge Rutherford was the senior judicial law clerk to the Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas. Judge Rutherford was twice recognized by the Federal Bar Association, Dallas Chapter, as the District Chambers Staff Person of the Year, in 2013 and 2017.
Judge Rutherford is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar College, the Federal Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Association, and the Dallas Women’s Lawyers Association. She has published numerous articles and is a frequent presenter at CLE events and bench bar conferences. She has been an Associate and a Barrister in the Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court and is a current Barrister in the Barbara M.G. Lynn American Inn of Court. Judge Rutherford is admitted to practice in the Northern District of Texas and the Eastern District of Texas.
Judge Rutherford will preside in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas. Congratulations to Judge Rutherford!