Stephen Higginson ’79

Groton, however, can claim to be at the center of this personal map. “Groton instilled in me a joy of learning and an exuberant work ethic, which eased me through college and law school,” he says. After graduating from Harvard College and Cambridge University, he attended Yale Law School, and then clerked for Chief Judge Patricia M. Wald, on the United States Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit, and then for Justice Byron White, on the United States Supreme Court.

In 1989, Judge Higginson became an Assistant United States Attorney, first in Massachusetts and then, in 1989, in Louisiana, where he also became chief of appeals. In that post, he handled or supervised all criminal and civil appeals, working on more than 100 appeals briefs. One early, challenging case was the prosecution of a Fortune 500 medical device company—memorable, he says, not just for its complexities, but also for the talent of opposing counsel. He served at the State Department from 1997-98 as deputy director of special projects for the Presidential Rule of Law Initiative, related to legal cooperation between China and the United States.

In 2004, Judge Higginson joined the full-time faculty of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, but continued as chief of appeals for the Department of Justice. In 2011, his Groton-instilled “exuberant work ethic” was recognized by President Barack Obama, who nominated him to the court of appeals, one step beneath the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed him, and Judge Higginson took his oath of office on November 2, 2011.

While a number of professional and academic settings have been his home base over the years, one is especially dear to his heart (and to the hearts of his father, Charles Higginson ’50, and son Chris ’14). “To borrow from John Donne,” Judge Higginson says, “Groton is a point I put my compass on to draw life’s circle.”