The Hon. Linda V. Parker is a judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Parker was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama in 2013. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 2014.
Prior to her appointment, Parker was a judge for the Third Circuit Court of Michigan, a position to which she was named by former Governor Jennifer Granholm on December 26, 2008. Before that, she spent time as the Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (2003 to 2008) and the Detroit Institute of Arts (2000 to 2003).
Parker earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1980. She then completed a J.D. at The George Washington University Law School in 1983.
After graduating from law school, Parker began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. William S. Thompson of the District of Columbia Superior Court. She served in that capacity until 1985, at which time she became a staff attorney for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Parker then entered into private practice. She started as an associate at Dickinson Wright (1989), quickly rising through the ranks to become a partner (1992). She supplemented her practice with service as a bar exam grader for the Michigan Board of Law Examiners. Then, in 1994, she was named Executive Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Her memberships have included the Wolverine Bar Association and the Detroit Chapter of Links, Inc. She has also been involved with the Harbortown Development Condo Association Board, the Welcoming Michigan Advisory Board, the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion Board, the American Diabetes Association Board, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan Advisory Board.
She is a recipient of the Freedom Fighter Award from the Oakland County NAACP (2009), the Women of Courage Women of Change Award from the Minerva Education Development Foundation (2008), the Women of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League (2006), the Spirit of Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council (2005), the Distinguished Service Award from the Wolverine Bar Association (2002), and the Community Service Award from the United States Department of Justice (1998).
Parker was born and raised in Detroit.