Early life and education

Gettleman was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

 and moved with his family to Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 at a young age. Gettleman received a B.S./B.A. from Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

 in 1965. He received a J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from Northwestern University School of Law

Northwestern University School of Law

The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...

 in 1968. He was a Staff law clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit in 1968. He was a law clerk

Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...

, Hon. Latham Castle

Latham Castle

Latham Castle was a United States federal judge.Born in Sandwich, Illinois, Castle was in the United States Army in 1918, and then received an [LL.B.]] from Northwestern University School of Law in 1924. He was in private practice in Sandwich, Illinois from 1924 to 1925. He was a City attorney of...

, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit from 1968 to 1969. He was a Law clerk, Hon. Luther Swygert

Luther Merritt Swygert

Luther Merritt Swygert was a United States federal judge.Born in Miami County, Ohio, Swygert received an LL.B. from Notre Dame Law School in 1927. He was in private practice in Indiana from 1928 to 1931. He was a Deputy prosecuting attorney of Lake County, Indiana from 1931 to 1933. He was an...

, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit in 1970.

Professional career

Gettleman was in private practice of law in Chicago, Illinois from 1970 to 1994. He joined the firm of D'Ancona & Pflaum as an associate in the firm's litigation department in 1970, and became a partner in 1974. He remained with the firm until being appointed to the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

Gettleman is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....

. Gettleman was nominated by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 on August 16, 1994, to a seat vacated by John F. Grady. He was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on October 7, 1994, and received his commission on October 11, 1994.

Gettleman has decided to take senior status

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

, effective May 5, 2009.