The Honorable Carmen McLean

Carmen Guerricagoitia McLean was nominated to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by President Obama on September 27, 2016 and by President Trump on October 30, 2017. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019.

Judge McLean was born and raised in rural Oregon and attended Oregon public schools. She received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Immediately after law school, Judge McLean became an associate at Jones Day, an international law firm. She was elevated to partnership in 2011 and served Jones Day’s Washington Office in several roles, including Partner In-Charge of Pro Bono and Public Service and Diversity Committee Co-Chair.

While at Jones Day, Judge McLean was a corporate litigator and trial attorney. Her diverse practice in both state and federal courts included multimillion-dollar cases regarding contract interpretation, alleged copyright infringement, successor liability, and alleged civil and criminal antitrust violations. She also counseled clients, wrote articles and white papers, and taught continuing legal education courses on a variety of issues related to electronic discovery and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In 2015, the National Law Journal named Judge McLean a District of Columbia Rising Star.

Throughout her time at Jones Day, Judge McLean was active in pro bono work on behalf of at-risk children in the District of Columbia. She acted as counsel in adoption, custody, and guardianship matters to secure safe and permanent homes for more than 50 children. Judge McLean also actively recruited others to this work and served on multiple nonprofit boards with goals of protecting and serving children. As a result of this work, Judge McLean was named a Champion of the Legal Profession by the National Law Journal in 2011 and District of Columbia Bar Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2012.

Judge McLean is on a Felony 2 calendar. She previously served as the Deputy Presiding Judge of the Probate and Tax Divisions and oversaw a Domestic Relations calendar in the Family Court. She has co-chaired the Superior Court Committee on Pro Bono and Affordable Counsel since 2020 and serves on the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission.

Judge McLean is married and has two children and is the proud sister of a Commander (O-5) in the United States Navy Nurse Corps.