Honorable Laurence H. Silberman
Biographical Sketch
SILBERMAN, LAURENCE H., U.S. Senior Circuit Judge; recipient of the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, June 19, 2008. Born York, Pa., Oct. 12, 1935; s. William and Anna (Hirsch) S.; m.
Rosalie G. Gaull, April 28, 1957 (deceased); m. Patricia Winn, Jan. 5, 2008; children – Robert
Stephen Silberman, Katherine DeBoer Balaban and Anne Gaull Otis (8 grandchildren); B.A.,
Dartmouth, 1957; LL.B., Harvard, 1961. Admitted to Hawaii bar, 1962; assoc. firm Moore,
Torkildson & Rice, Honolulu, 1961-64; partner firm (Moore, Silberman & Schulze), Honolulu,
1964-67; atty. appellate div. gen. counsel’s office NLRB, Washington, 1967-69; solicitor of labor
U.S. Dept. Labor, Washington, 1969-70; under sec. Labor, 1970-73; partner Steptoe & Johnson,
Washington, 1973-74; dep. atty. gen. of U.S., 1974-75; ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1975-77;
President’s spl. envoy on ILO affairs, 1976; sr. fellow Am. Enterprise Inst., 1977-78, vis. fellow,
1978-85; mng. partner Morrison & Foerster, Washington, 1978-79, 1983-85; Exec. V.P. Crocker
Nat. Bank, San Francisco, 1979-83; U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit, 1985–; lectr. labor law and legislation U. Hawaii, 1962-63; Adjunct Professor
of Law Georgetown Law Center, 1987-94, 1997, 1999-2002; New York University School of
Law, 1995-96; Harvard Law School, 1998; Distinguished Visitor from the Judiciary Georgetown
Law Center, 2003–; Bd. dirs. Com. on Present Danger, 1978-85; Inst. for Ednl. Affairs, 1981-85;
vice chmn. adv. council on gen. govt. Republican Nat. Com., 1977-80; Member, General
Advisory Committee on Arms Control & Disarmament, 1981-85; Member of Defense Policy
Board, 1981-85; vice chmn. State Department’s Commission on Security & Economic
Assistance, 1983-84. Served with AUS, 1957-58. Mem. Am. Bar Assn. 1962-92 (labor law
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