Hon. Thomas I. Vanaskie

The Hon. Thomas I. Vanaskie serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a position to which he was nominated by President Barack Obama on August 7, 2009. He is the former Chair of the Information Technology Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking body for the United States Courts, having been appointed to that position by the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Judge Vanaskie has served as a member of the Third Circuit Judicial Council, and presently co-chairs its Information Technology Committee. He is a former member of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Board of Directors of the Federal Judges Association.

Judge Vanaskie attended The Dickinson School of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor Degree, cum laude, in 1978. He was a member of the Dickinson Law Review editorial staff, a member of the school's Appellate Moot Court Board, and a member of the International Law Moot Court Team. He received the M. Vashti Burr award, a scholarship given by the Law School's faculty to the student deemed "most deserving" based upon economic needs and the excellence of his industry and scholarship. He was named to the Woolsack Society for outstanding academic achievement.

Upon graduating from law school, Judge Vanaskie served as a law clerk to then Chief Judge William J. Nealon of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In 1980, he joined the Scranton office of the Philadelphia-based law firm of Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish & Kauffman. In March of 1992, Judge Vanaskie became a principal member of the law firm of Elliott, Vanaskie & Riley, which maintained offices in Blue Bell, Scranton, and Harrisburg, PA, as well as Washington, D.C.

Judge Vanaskie has served on the Board of Directors of the Lackawanna Bar Association and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. He was chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Lackawanna Bar Association. He also served as a member of the Lawyers' Advisory Committee for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and as a member of the Civil Justice Reform Act Group for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.