Vanessa D. Gilmore
In 1994 when Judge Vanessa Diane Gilmore was sworn in, she was then the youngest sitting federal judge in the nation. The native of Silver Spring, Maryland was also the youngest member of her freshman class at her alma mater, Hampton University entering at age sixteen. Gilmore decided to undertake a career in law after she represented herself and won a minor civil lawsuit. She graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1981.
In 1982, Gilmore began a 13-year tenure at a Houston law firm known as Vickery, Kilbride, Gilmore and Vickery where she specialized in civil litigation. Gilmore also became an active member of the Houston civic community, serving on the boards of a number of civic and charitable organizations including a term as president of the YWCA of Houston and as a teacher and counselor in the area of election law.
Her civic activities outside of the courtroom brought her to the attention of Governor Ann Richards who in 1991 appointed Gilmore to the Texas Department of Commerce Policy Board, where she also served as chairperson from 1992 to 1994. Her appointment to that board made Judge Gilmore the first African-American to serve on this board responsible for increasing business, promoting tourism and developing job training in Texas. In 1993, she also served as chairperson of Texans for NAFTA. In this capacity, she worked regularly with diplomatic leaders, including the President of Mexico, to increase U.S. trade opportunities.
Gilmore was nominated to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and became the first University of Houston graduate to be appointed to the Federal bench. During her tenure as a federal judge, she has written significant opinions on patients’ rights, intellectual property, labor and employment, securities law, energy, insurance and environmental law. She presided over the trial of the Enron Broadband case, and over the environmental case relating to the building of the Galveston cruise ship terminal as well as the case that permitted Uber and Lyft to operate in Houston.
After more than 27 years of judicial service, Gilmore retired from the bench in January of 2022 and now serves of counsel to the Roberts Markland law firm and also works as a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, an alternative dispute resolution company. She serves on the advisory board of a privately held corporation and she is also the proud owner of “Tea With Judge V”, a tearoom located in the Hotel King David on the historic Riverside Drive.
Judge Gilmore is the co- author of “A Boy Named Rocky”, a book for the children of incarcerated parents. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to these children and has worked on initiatives to help them and their families. Gilmore is the author of three other books including “Saving the Dream”, a fiction novel that Gilmore hopes will encourage other families and single people to pursue their own dreams of parenting through adoption. She is the recipient of numerous civic awards for community service. She spent seventeen years on the board of trustees of Hampton University, and currently serves on the boards of the DePelchin’s Children Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity, The Kinder Institute for Urban Research and on the board of visitors of MD Anderson. Gilmore is the mother of one son who is a graduate of American University.