James Patrick Hanlon received his Commission on November 5, 2018, and was sworn in as United States District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana on November 13, 2018.  He was nominated by President Trump on April 12, 2018, to succeed the Honorable William T. Lawrence.  Supported by Indiana Senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly, Judge Hanlon was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 11, 2018.

Judge Hanlon began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert L. Miller, Jr., District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana.  After several years in private practice with a national law firm in Chicago, he served for five years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana.  For 12 years prior to taking the bench, Judge Hanlon was a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP and co-chair of the Firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice.  In addition to serving as retained counsel to companies and individuals, Judge Hanlon represented individuals as appointed counsel in criminal proceedings before the District Court and Seventh Circuit.  

Judge Hanlon is a published author in the fields of white collar crime and federal criminal practice and has taught classes on these topics at the IU McKinney School of Law.  He is a frequent speaker and panel moderator at CLE events on various topics.

Judge Hanlon is a graduate of New Trier High School, DePauw University and Valparaiso University School of Law.