News Releases for September 2009
September 11, 2009
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Hoeven Appoints Weir to Southwest Judicial District Judgeship
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today named H. Patrick Weir to the Southwest Judicial District Judgeship, chambered in Dickinson. Weir replaces Judge Allan Schmalenberger, who announced his retirement in May.
Judge Weir is a native of Dickinson, where he attended St. Patrick's Elementary School and Dickinson High School. He is a graduate of St. John's University in Minn., and obtained his law degree in 1964 on a full scholarship from the University of Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Indiana.
Upon graduation, he clerked with Judge Charles J. Vogel, Chief Judge of the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for a year, and in 1965, took a position with the Vogel Law Firm, where he was made a partner in1967.
Since 1994, Weir has regularly been selected by his peers for inclusion in the "The Best Lawyers in America," most recently in the 2010 edition. The designation includes just 3 percent of all U.S. attorneys. He has also been named to the American Registry LLC. for 30 years running. The group applies a strenuous peer review rating system managed and monitored by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, one of the nation's leading legal publishing and consulting firms.
Judge Weir has participated in numerous civic organizations, including the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, City of Medora Zoning Commission, and Home on the Range for Boys and Girls, among others.
"Pat Weir brings tremendous judgment and ability, as well as a long and distinguished legal career with years of experience to the bench," Hoeven said. "We had a number of fine candidates, making it a difficult decision. Pat brings a combination of skills and temperament will serve him well as judge for the Southwest District."
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