Philip M. Halpern

Philip Morgan Halpern (born 1956) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Education

Halpern was born in 1956, in Derby, Connecticut. He received his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from Fordham University, and his Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law.

Legal and academic career

Upon graduation from law school, he clerked for Judge Irving Ben Cooper of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was a managing partner of Collier, Halpern & Newberg, LLP, in White Plains, New York, where he focused on commercial, employment, real estate, and securities litigation. One of his former partners at the firm was Albert Pirro. Pirro left the firm in 2000 after being convicted of tax fraud. From 2016 to 2017, and again in 2019 and 2022, he was an adjunct professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, where he taught "The Anatomy of a Trial: The Burden of Proof."

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 22, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Halpern for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate the next day. On October 30, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On November 21, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 17–5 vote. On February 11, 2020, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 75–18 vote. On February 12, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a 77–19 vote. He received his judicial commission on February 21, 2020.