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Eric Clay | |
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| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
| Assumed office August 1, 1997 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Ralph B. Guy Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eric Lee Clay (1948-01-18)January 18, 1948 (age 77) Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Eric Lee Clay (born January 18, 1948) is aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Born inDurham,North Carolina, Clay earned aBachelor of Arts degreePhi Beta Kappa from theUniversity of North Carolina in 1969 and aJuris Doctor in 1972 fromYale Law School, where he was a classmate of future presidentBill Clinton andHillary Clinton. Clay clerked for United States District JudgeDamon Keith from June 1972 until June 1973.[1]
Clay worked as a lawyer in private practice inDetroit, Michigan from 1973 until 1997. He was a partner and co-founder of Lewis, White & Clay, which was considered to be one of the nation's leading black-owned law firms.[1] In addition, he also served on the executive board of the Clinton-Gore finance committee for Michigan in 1992. David Baker Lewis, Clay's law partner, was the husband ofKathleen McCree Lewis, a Clinton nominee to the Sixth Circuit who was never confirmed.[2]
On March 6, 1996, PresidentBill Clinton nominated Clay to a seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by JudgeRalph B. Guy Jr. TheUnited States Senate Judiciary Committee approved Clay's nomination in 1996, but theUnited States Senate adjourned in 1996 prior to the presidential election without taking a full confirmation vote. Clinton renominated Clay on January 7, 1997. Clay was unanimously confirmed by the full Senate in a voice vote on July 31, 1997, and received his commission on August 1, 1997.[2]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 1997–present | Incumbent |
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| National | |
