The Honorable Leslie E. Kobayashi was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2010, and confirmed by the United States Senate as a United States District Judge in the District of Hawai`i on December 22, 2010. Prior to confirmation, Judge Kobayashi served as a United States Magistrate Judge (1999-2010) in the District of Hawai`i.
She was a practicing lawyer for 16 years, first serving as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu (1983-1984), and then in private practice where she was a trial attorney and a managing partner (1984-1999), handling a variety of matters including personal injury, business disputes, labor and employment, medical and legal malpractice, and products liability.
She received her BA degree from Wellesley College (1979) and her JD degree from Boston College School of Law (1983). She has been an adjunct professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, and served on various committees for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Kobayashi is currently a member of the Ninth Circuit Jury Instructions Committee and is the Ninth Circuit District Judge Representative to the Judicial Conference of the United States.