Michelle Friedland was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in April of 2014.

Judge Friedland received a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology and population biology in 1995 from Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She then studied philosophy at Oxford University as a Fulbright scholar, returning to California for law school. She received a Juris Doctorate in 2000 from Stanford Law School, graduating Order of the Coif and second in her class. She served as a law clerk to Judge David Tatel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and then to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court.

Judge Friedland taught for two years at Stanford Law School before entering private practice at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, where she was a litigation associate and then partner. She litigated cases in the state and federal trial and appellate courts, with a particular focus on constitutional and antitrust issues. The University of California was one of her biggest clients, and she litigated a variety of constitutional issues on the University’s behalf. Judge Friedland also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia Law School, teaching a course on constitutional issues in higher education.

Judge Friedland's chambers are in San Jose, California.