Judge Castillo of Chicago, Illinois, has served as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 1994 and currently serves on the Court's Executive Committee. He has sat by designation on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. From 1991-1994, he was a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis. He was the regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1988-1991. Judge Castillo served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1984-1988 and was previously with the firm of Jenner & Block. He is an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Northwestern University School of Law, where he has taught since 1988.
Judge Castillo currently serves as the Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation's Trial Practice Committee. He was recently selected by his fellow judges in the Seventh Circuit to serve as a Circuit Representative to the United States Judicial Conference, the rule making body of the U.S. Courts System.