Upon graduation from law school, Judge Rowland served as a law clerk to Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Prior to becoming a federal magistrate judge, she spent twelve years as a partner in the Chicago firm of Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym. Before entering private practice, she served for ten years in the Chicago office of the federal defender; first as a staff attorney and later as the office's chief appellate attorney.
Affiliations and memberships
Rowland is a member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago.
From 2012–2019, Rowland served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She was officially sworn in on October 1, 2012. At the time of her appointment, she was one of only a few openly gay judges in the country.
On June 7, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Rowland to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Her nomination was the result of an agreement between Trump and Illinois' two Democratic U.S. Senators. On June 18, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Rowland to the seat vacated by Judge Amy J. St. Eve, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on May 23, 2018. Rowland was President Trump's first openly gay judicial nominee. On August 22, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On October 11, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–5 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On April 8, 2019, President Trump announced the renomination of Rowland to the district court. On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On June 20, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 14–8 vote with her opposition coming from a majority of the Republican Senators on the committee. On July 31, 2019, the Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote. She received her judicial commission on August 20, 2019.
