Judge John A. Kazen took the oath of office as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas on January 12, 2024. Before that, he was a U.S. Magistrate Judge for five years. Judge Kazen began the practice of law in 1991. He clerked for the Hon. Robert M. Parker, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He then practiced law primarily in the area of civil trial law for over 25 years, first in El Paso, Texas and later returning to Laredo, Texas to start his own law firm and raise a family in his hometown. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1990.