Stephen S. Schwartz


Stephen Sidney Schwartz is an American lawyer. He is currently a partner at Schaerr Jaffe LLP in Washington, D.C. Schwartz is a nominee to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Education and career

Schwartz received his Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, from Yale University and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. In 2008, he started his legal career serving as a law clerk to Judge Jerry Edwin Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
After his clerkship, he became an associate in the litigation practice of Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C. He then served as counsel at Cause of Action, a public interest law firm. He currently is a partner at Schaerr Jaffe LLP in Washington, D.C, where he litigates civil, constitutional, and administrative law matters in federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Nomination to Court of Federal Claims

On June 7, 2017, President Trump nominated Schwartz to serve as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, to the seat vacated by Judge Lynn J. Bush, who took senior status on October 21, 2013. On July 25, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination. His nomination was reported out of committee by a vote of 11–9 on September 14, 2017. On January 3, 2018, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 8, 2018, the White House renominated 21 of 26 federal judicial nominees who had been returned by the U.S. Senate. Schwartz was not among the 21 individuals who were renominated.
On October 2, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Schwartz to serve on the United States Court of Federal Claims. On October 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Schwartz to the seat vacated by Judge Marian Blank Horn, who took senior status on March 9, 2018. On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 9, 2020, he was renominated to the same seat. On May 14, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. His nomination is currently pending before the full United States Senate.