Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray commended President Joe Biden on his nomination of Lauren King to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Washington.
“Ms. King is a highly qualified candidate who will be well prepared to serve as an exceptional federal judge on day one. Her impressive legal experience, significant work in tribal courts, and her service to the community will all be important assets to our court system. I look forward to a swift confirmation of Ms. King so she can get to work for the people of Washington state as soon as possible,” said Senator Murray.
Lauren King chairs Foster Garvey P.C.’s Native American Law Practice Group and has served as a pro tem appellate judge for the Northwest Intertribal Court System since 2013. Ms. King is also an appointed Commissioner on the Washington State Gambling Commission. She previously taught Federal Indian Law at the Seattle University School of Law. Prior to joining Foster Garvey, King was an associate at Byrnes Keller Cromwell LLP from 2010 to 2012 and at K&L Gates from 2008 to 2009.
Ms. King is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which is located in Oklahoma where she was born, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 2004 before going on to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008. Since then, Ms. King has been a judge for eight years for the Northwest Intertribal Court System, which adjudicates cases for its 24 member tribes. In that role, she has heard appeals in various tribal courts on diverse subject matters, ranging from child welfare cases and landlord-tenant disputes to procedural issues.
In addition to her role as a pro tem appellate judge, Ms. King has a diverse private practice that has included construction litigation, treaty rights disputes, patent litigation, commercial contract disputes, and complex litigation involving Indian tribes. Her clients have included Indian tribes, technology and analytics companies, retailers, game developers, municipalities, small and mid-size companies, and manufacturers. Ms. King has also argued appeals before the Ninth Circuit and in state court. She currently serves as a board member for the Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association and has previously served as a board member on the Seattle Indian Health Board, the Northwest Indian Bar Association, and as Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section. Additionally, she has been appointed by the Principal Chief of her tribe—the Muscogee (Creek) Nation—to serve on the Mvskoke Reservation Protection Commission to undertake research, analysis, and fact-finding for new economic development opportunities and other opportunities to benefit those living on the reservation.