John B. Nalbandian

President Donald Trump’s latest round of judicial nominees includes a Lawrence High School alumnus. If confirmed, John B. Nalbandian, son of former Lawrence Mayor John Nalbandian, will serve as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The younger Nalbandian, who graduated from LHS in 1987, is a partner in the Cincinnati-based litigation practice group Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where he has practiced since 2000. Nalbandian, of Union, Ky., is the firm’s lead appellate lawyer and also practices complex litigation in state and federal courts, according to a news release from the Lawrence school district.

After graduating from Lawrence High, Nalbandian attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, earning his undergraduate degree in 1991. He received a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994.

Nalbandian has been recognized annually since 2007 by “Best Lawyers of America” for his work in appellate law, and was also featured by Cincinnati Magazine as a 2007 Ohio “Super Lawyers” Rising Star in appellate practice. More recently, Nalbandian was appointed by former President Barack Obama (and confirmed by the U.S. Senate) to serve on the board of directors for the State Justice Institute, a nonprofit established by the federal government to improve the administration of justice in state courts.

His legal experience also includes serving as a special justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court.

John B. Nalbandian

Nalbandian is the son of Carol Nalbandian, who died in 2014, and John Nalbandian, a former Lawrence mayor and professor emeritus at the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration.