Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Lorie S. Gildea to a Fourth Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in Hennepin County.  The vacancy occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Myron S. Greenberg on March 1, 2005.  Twenty-eight people applied for this position.

Gildea is an assistant Hennepin County attorney, a position she has held since 2004.  She was associate general counsel for the University of Minnesota from 1993 to 2004, and an associate attorney with the law firm of Arent Fox in Washington, DC from 1986 to 1993.  Gildea earned her juris doctorate degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law School in Washington, DC in 1986 and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1983.

"Lorie has the intellect as well as the common sense to handle any case that will come before her as a judge - from a complex civil insurance case to a simple traffic violation," Governor Pawlenty said.  "She handled some difficult and sensitive cases while at the University of Minnesota with the utmost of professionalism.  She will be an asset to the Hennepin County bench."

Gildea is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and serves on its Executive Council, Board of Directors, and Civil Litigation Governing Council.  She had also been a member of its Diversity Committee.  Gildea is also a member of the Hennepin County Bar Association, serving on its Board of Directors.  She has also been a member of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, MINNCOR Industries Advisory Board, and the YWCA of Minneapolis Board of Directors.

Gildea, 43, was born in Plummer and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Andrew.