Claire V Eagan

Judge Eagan was appointed in 2001 by President George W. Bush as the first female United States District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma, where she served as Chief Judge from 2005 to 2012. She was appointed Chair of the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Defender Services for 2008-2012. Judge Eagan served as the first full-time female United States Magistrate Judge in the District from 1998 to 2001, presiding over civil and criminal trials, pretrial matters, and the court's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program. She graduated cum laude both from Trinity College, Washington, D.C. in 1972, and Fordham University School of Law in 1976. In 1978, she was employed first as an associate and thereafter as the first female shareholder, director, and executive committee member at Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. in Tulsa until her appointment as a magistrate judge. Her private practice focused on business litigation, primarily in the areas of securities, telecommunications, and environmental and employment law. Judge Eagan has an extensive record of service to the Oklahoma courts and bar associations. She also has taught constitutional law, appellate practice, and ADR at the University of Tulsa College of Law, where she also has offered a practicum to TU law students in federal criminal defense. Her past and present community activities include the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Catholic Charities, United Way, Junior League, and the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa.