A senior partner in one of Utah's top law firms has been nominated by the White House to be Utah's next federal judge.

On Tuesday, Clark Waddoups of Parr, Waddoups, Brown, Gee & Loveless was chosen by President Bush to fill the federal judicial vacancy left by the departure of U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell. The nomination is pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Waddoups was one of several candidates for the judicial position but was the only candidate from Utah.

Both of Utah's U.S. senators, Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, have expressed support for the president's nomination.

Waddoups is a trial lawyer specializing in commercial litigation, including antitrust, securities, labor/employment, banking, construction, environmental and insurance claims.

He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 1970 and his juris doctorate from the University of Utah's law school in 1973. Waddoups worked for a large California law firm for seven years before joining Parr Waddoups in 1981. He is currently involved with the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence and is the past president of the A. Sherman Christiansen American Inn of Court I. He was recently ranked 26th in the 2008 edition of "The Best Lawyers in America."

If his nomination is confirmed, Waddoups will join a long line of law firm partners and associates who have gone on to become judges.

Judge Dale Kimball, a former partner, and Judge Dee Benson, a former firm associate, now serve as federal judges in Utah. Utah Supreme Court justices Matthew Durrant and Jill Parrish also were firm partners, as was Utah Court of Appeals Judge Carolyn McHugh.

Waddoups is nominated to fill the vacancy left by Cassell, who stepped down from the bench to go back to teaching law at the University of Utah last November.

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