The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington is pleased to announce that S. Kate Vaughan has been selected as the new magistrate judge in Seattle. Ms. Vaughan will succeed Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler, who is retiring on April 30, 2021.

Ms. Vaughan has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Durham in the United Kingdom, and she received her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. 

Ms. Vaughan has extensive experience in the practice of civil and criminal law. She is currently a Supervisory Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.  Ms. Vaughan has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2010.  Her current duties including training and supervising Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and she also is a member of the Hiring Committee.  She has been instrumental in promoting diversity as an integral part of the hiring practices in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Her previous duties with the U.S. Attorney’s Office included service in the Criminal Enterprise Unit, and a leadership role as the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Vaughan worked in civil practice at Perkins Coie in Seattle.  She handled corporate and individual clients, focusing on fraud class action litigation, ERISA cases, and breach of contract matters.

Ms. Vaughan is currently undergoing a required background investigation, and the court expects she will start duty in Seattle on May 2, 2021.