The Honorable Patricia M. Wald, a graduate of Yale Law School, served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1999, serving as Chief Judge from 1986-1991.

Judge Wald was a consultant for the Office of Economic Opportunity at the National Conference on Law and Poverty in 1965. She went on to work with legal services organizations such as Neighborhood Legal Services Program from 1968-1970 and the Center for Law and Social Policy from 1971-1972 before becoming Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the Department of Justice and, soon after, a Justice with the U.S. Court of Appeals.