John W. Holcomb
John William Holcomb (born 1963) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Education. Holcomb earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and his Juris Doctor, "cum laude", from Harvard Law School. Military service. Holcomb served in the United States Navy from 1980 to 1989, and he was on active duty as a commissioned officer from 1984 to 1989. His service included time as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the battleship  USS New Jersey (BB-62). Legal career. Upon graduation from law school, Holcomb served as a law clerk to Judge Ronald Barliant of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 1997, he was an associate with Irell & Manella. He practiced intellectual property law at Knobbe Martens from 1997 to 2018. In 2019 he was briefly a sole practitioner, before joining Greenberg Gross in Costa Mesa, California, where he focused on intellectual property and bankruptcy litigation. He left Greenberg Gross after becoming a federal judge. Federal judicial service. On September 20 , 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Holcomb to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. On November 21, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Holcomb to the seat vacated by Judge Dean Pregerson, who took senior status on January 28, 2016. On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On February 13, 2020, his renomination was sent to the Senate. On June 17, 2020, a hearing on his  nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On July 23, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote. On September 15, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 83–12. He received his judicial commission on September 18, 2020.