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SUMMARY:Webinar: Foundations of the Bench: A Journey of Hispanic Legal Excellence
DESCRIPTION:**Program hosted in (ET) Time Zone**\nCelebrating the journeys\, perspectives and achievements that have shaped Hispanic excellence on the federal bench.\nRegister here\n  \n1.0 Florida CLE Credit \n\nPresenters\n\nThe Honorable Melissa Damian\nJudge Melissa Damian serves as a United States District Judge in the Southern District of Florida. President Biden nominated her to the District Court in November 2023; she was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 28\, 2024\, and sworn in on March 5\, 2024. Before becoming a District Judge\, she served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida beginning in January 2022.\nJudge Damian earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1990 and her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1995. Her career has included private practice\, service as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida\, and a clerkship with the Honorable Ursula Ungaro. She has held leadership roles in numerous bar organizations\, currently chairs the Southern District of Florida’s Technology Committee\, and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law.\n  \nThe Honorable Rodolfo A. Ruiz II\nJudge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II serves as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. He received his commission on May 3\, 2019. Judge Ruiz earned his B.S. from Duke University in 2002 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005.\nBefore joining the federal bench\, Judge Ruiz served as a judge on Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit and previously on the Miami-Dade County Court. His professional background also includes service as an Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County and private practice. He remains active in the administration of the Southern District of Florida and currently serves on Court committees\, including the Committee to Oversee Events Commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month.\n  \n  \nThe Honorable Virginia M. Hernandez Covington\nJudge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington was appointed a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida in 2004\, becoming the District’s first Hispanic district judge. She previously served on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal and was the first Cuban American woman appointed to any of Florida’s appellate courts.\nJudge Covington is an honors graduate of the University of Tampa\, where she also earned an MBA\, and a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. Before taking the bench\, she served for nearly twenty years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Her many honors include Tampa’s Hispanic Woman of the Year\, the Florida Supreme Court Federal Judicial Pro Bono Award\, and induction into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame. She has also worked extensively with judges throughout Latin America\, Europe\, and Asia on trial advocacy\, judicial ethics\, court management\, and other subjects.\n  \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.fedbar.org/event/foundations-of-the-bench-a-journey-of-hispanic-legal-excellence/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.fedbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Flyer-re-10.1.2026-at-Noon-Webinar-Foundations-of-the-Federal-Bench-e1787335689972.jpg
LOCATION:https://www.fedbar.org/event/foundations-of-the-bench-a-journey-of-hispanic-legal-excellence/
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