Retired Judge Wood discusses his rise to the bench, memorable cases and overturned precedents

Judge Diane Wood, who has been described as a liberal voice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, resigned from her position in late April to devote herself full-time to her role as director of the American Law Institute, an institution dedicated to explaining American common law.

“I came into the principal’s job with the understanding that I wouldn’t be fundraising, that (there would be) a strong wall there … but I didn’t want to do that forever. And in order to really do my job, I had to get off the court,” Wood said of her decision to retire.