Full Name
Hon. Robert J. Conrad Jr.
Job Title
Director
Company
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Speaker Bio
Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. is the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. He was appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and began serving on March 1, 2024. As Director, Judge Conrad also serves as Secretary to the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Judge Conrad serves as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Appointed to the bench in June 2005, Judge Conrad served as Chief Judge from 2006 to 2013. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Conrad served for fifteen years in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina including as the United States Attorney from 2001 to 2004.
Judge Conrad’s service to the Judicial Branch includes membership on the Judicial Conference (2015-2020) as well as service on the following committees: Executive Committee (2016-2020); Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules (2021-present); liaison from that committee to the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules (2021-present); and Committee on Space and Facilities (2006-2012). As part of his committee service, Judge Conrad addressed issues important to the Judicial Branch, including implementation of the 2017 Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act (the Cardone report), and providing guidance on conducting jury trials and convening grand juries during the COVID-19 pandemic as a member of the Judiciary’s COVID-19 Task Force and chair of its jury subgroup.
During his service in the Department of Justice between 1989 and 2004, Judge Conrad was tapped by successive Attorneys General for a number of special assignments. He served as Chief of the Campaign Financing Task Force; he chaired the Committee on Violent Crime; and he co-chaired the Committee on Terrorism. He also was appointed as a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
Judge Conrad has served as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest Law School, a member of the faculty of the Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia and received that organization’s William Brennan award for outstanding contributions to trial advocacy. He has been the chief proponent of a courtroom design known as the Virginia Revival Model Courtroom.
Judge Conrad graduated magna cum laude from Clemson University in 1980, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. A former ACC basketball player (Clemson, 1976-1980), he is a member of the Clemson University Hall of Fame and was selected as a “Legend of the ACC".
Judge Conrad serves as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Appointed to the bench in June 2005, Judge Conrad served as Chief Judge from 2006 to 2013. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Conrad served for fifteen years in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina including as the United States Attorney from 2001 to 2004.
Judge Conrad’s service to the Judicial Branch includes membership on the Judicial Conference (2015-2020) as well as service on the following committees: Executive Committee (2016-2020); Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules (2021-present); liaison from that committee to the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules (2021-present); and Committee on Space and Facilities (2006-2012). As part of his committee service, Judge Conrad addressed issues important to the Judicial Branch, including implementation of the 2017 Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act (the Cardone report), and providing guidance on conducting jury trials and convening grand juries during the COVID-19 pandemic as a member of the Judiciary’s COVID-19 Task Force and chair of its jury subgroup.
During his service in the Department of Justice between 1989 and 2004, Judge Conrad was tapped by successive Attorneys General for a number of special assignments. He served as Chief of the Campaign Financing Task Force; he chaired the Committee on Violent Crime; and he co-chaired the Committee on Terrorism. He also was appointed as a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
Judge Conrad has served as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest Law School, a member of the faculty of the Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia and received that organization’s William Brennan award for outstanding contributions to trial advocacy. He has been the chief proponent of a courtroom design known as the Virginia Revival Model Courtroom.
Judge Conrad graduated magna cum laude from Clemson University in 1980, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. A former ACC basketball player (Clemson, 1976-1980), he is a member of the Clemson University Hall of Fame and was selected as a “Legend of the ACC".
Speaking At
