President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Michael Kenny O’Keefe and Robert Okun to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

“Throughout their careers, these nominees have displayed unwavering commitment to justice and integrity,” said President Obama.  “Their records are distinguished and impressive and I am confident that they will serve the American people well from the bench of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  I am honored to nominate them today.”

Michael Kenny O’Keefe:  Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Michael Kenny O’Keefe is a sole practitioner with a focus on criminal defense and family law.  He has represented individuals in over 2,000 cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and litigated over 200 trials.  He served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2010.  Prior to starting his private practice, O’Keefe was a consultant to the District of Columbia law firm O’Connor & Hannan, where he also served as a law clerk.  O’Keefe earned his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law, where he was an Associate Editor of the Law Review.  Prior to law school, he served as a Legislative Aide to United States Senator Christopher J. Dodd.

Robert D. Okun:  Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Robert D. Okun is Chief of the Special Proceedings Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which handles all post-conviction motions filed in D.C. Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He also has served as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for Operations, and as Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney for Professional Development and Legal Policy, and he advises and trains Assistant U.S. Attorneys on issues involving ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Prior to his service at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Okun served as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Litigation and in the Fraud Section of the Civil Division, as well as in the Office of Policy and Evaluation at the Federal Trade Commission.  Okun earned his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.  Following law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Frank E. Schwelb, then-Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.