President Biden Taps Georgia N. Alexakis (JD ’06) for District Court Judge

On February 21, 2024, President Biden nominated Georgia N. Alexakis (JD ’06) to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

Alexakis has been an Assistant United States Attorney and the Chief of Appeals for the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois since 2022. She previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in that office from 2013 to 2021. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she worked on high-profile trials such as that of foiled Chicago bar bomber Adel Daoud and that of Marco Proano, a Chicago police officer found guilty of excessive force.

“Congratulations to Georgia Alexakis on being nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She has spent her career advancing justice through civil and criminal litigation, including her current role as Chief of Appeals of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, and is exceptionally qualified to serve as a District Court Judge,” said Dean Hari Osofsky. “We are thrilled she was selected for this honor.”

From 2021 to 2022, Alexakis worked as a partner at Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP in Chicago, focusing on government enforcement, investigations, and white-collar criminal defense work, as well as appellate advocacy for  businesses and key executives facing crises ranging from sensitive internal matters to high-profile enforcement actions.

From 2008 to 2012, she was an associate and then a partner at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP, also in Chicago.  Alexakis served as a law clerk for Judge Milton I. Shadur on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and for Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

She graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2006 and magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2000. Between college and law school, Alexakis worked as an associate and then as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. After graduating from Northwestern Law, Alexakis served on the Center for Practice Engagement and Innovation Advisory Board.

United States Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth recommended Alexakis as well as U.S. District Judge Nancy L. Maldonado for the position. After President’s nomination, the Senators released a joint statement: “These two Illinoisans have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction. We look forward to their nominations being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate and urge our colleagues to support them.”