Judge Tatel has served on the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals since 1994. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, Judge Tatel taught at the University of Michigan Law School before joining the law firm Sidley Austin in Chicago. He has served as founding director of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and director of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Returning to private practice in 1979, Tatel joined Hogan & Hartson, where he founded and headed the firm's education practice until his appointment to the D.C. Circuit.