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United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch's investiture ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on Friday, January 16 in Courtroom 216 in the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (46 E. Ohio Street), Indianapolis. A reception will follow outside the courtroom.

Debra McVicker Lynch, ’86, was appointed to the position of United States Magistrate Judge after the position became available due to the elevation of William T. Lawrence, ‘73 to the position of federal district judge.

Prior to her appointment, Lynch was of counsel at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP (formerly Sommer Barnard) where she worked for more than 20 years. Her practice included litigation of contract disputes, business dissolutions, antitrust matters, securities fraud cases, professional malpractice actions, and non-competition and trade secret matters. Lynch served as a law clerk to the Hon. Sarah Evans Barker from 1986 - 1988.

Lynch has also been an adjunct professor at the law school, teaching the Complex Litigation course. She served as Special Master for Judge Sarah Evans Barker in the Bridgestone/Firestone Tires Products Liability Multidistrict Litigation from 2000 to 2004. Lynch is a summa cum laude graduate of the law school, where she served as Editorin-Chief of the Indiana Law Review. United States Magistrate Judges are appointed by the Judges of the U.S. District Court for a term of eight years, and are eligible for reappointment to successive terms. A Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee chaired by retired Magistrate Judge V. Sue Shields reviewed more than 50 applications and recommended five candidates for the position. The district judges of the court then selected Ms. Lynch from among those five candidates.