Retired Seventh Circuit Judge and ALI Director Diane Wood Joins FedArb

January 7, 2025 | Federal Arbitration Inc

January 7, 2025 – FedArb is pleased to announce Hon. Diane P. Wood (Ret.) has joined its panel. Based in Illinois, Judge Wood is a widely respected appellate judge who served for nearly 30 years on the Seventh Circuit. From 2013 to 2020, she was the Circuit’s Chief Judge, the first woman to serve in that capacity. With a background in antitrust and international law, she will be available to serve as a mediator, arbitrator and mock trial advisor.

Judge Wood began her storied legal career as a clerk for the Supreme Court, the State Department and also as an associate at a D.C. law firm. She then joined the law faculty of the University of Chicago as a professor, associate dean and was later named the Green Professor of International Legal Studies, the first woman to be honored with a named chair.

She served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she was responsible for the Division’s international, legal policy, and appellate work. She was then appointed to the 7th Circuit in 1995. Throughout her tenure, she continued to teach at the University of Chicago Law School, focusing on civil procedure, antitrust, and international regulatory issues. She assumed the post of director at the American Law Institute in May 2023.

“We are thrilled to have Judge Wood join us,” said Kennen D. Hagen, FedArb’s president and CEO. “She brings a lifetime of legal experience to her practice and her reputation for exemplary public service and commitment to justice make her an excellent addition to the FedArb panel.”

Judge Wood earned her B.A. and J.D. from University of Texas, Austin. In 2015, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice honored her with the John Sherman Award for contributions to the field of antitrust.

About FedArb

For almost two decades, leading law firms have used FedArb’s panel of more than 60 former Article III federal judges and 60 distinguished neutrals to successfully mediate and arbitrate hundreds of high profile complex civil cases, typically achieving results more efficiently and cost effectively than through litigation. FedArb’s panelists also work with law firms on internal investigations, mock trials and on corporate monitoring assignments. FedArb provides around-the-clock administrative services and requires its neutrals to honor the parties’ deadlines, saving clients time and money.