On November 12, 2014, President Obama nominated Kara Farnandez Stoll to fill the empty seat on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals left vacant by the June 2014 retirement of Judge Randall Rader.  Ms. Stoll is currently a patent litigation partner at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett and Dunner, LLP in Washington, D.C., where she has practiced since 1998.  Ms. Stoll received her B.S. in electrical engineering in 1991 from Michigan State University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1997.  After graduating from college, Ms. Stoll worked as a patent examiner at the USPTO from 1991 to 1997.  She then clerked for Federal Circuit Judge Alvin Schall in 1997-1998.  Since 2008, Ms. Stoll has been an adjunct professor at George Mason University Law School, and previously served as an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law from 2004 to 2008.  She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Rules Committee of the Federal Circuit Bar Association.  Ms. Stoll’s nomination is presently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.