Bruce E. Kasold was named Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims on August 6, 2010. He had been a Judge of the Court since his appointment by President George W. Bush in December 2003.

 

Kasold was born on April 26, 1951, in New York City. His father, Edward, was a city employee who became a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and his mother, Louise, was a nurse’s assistant. He attended St. John the Evangelist School before graduating from Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School in New York in 1969, and earning a degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1973. Between 1973 and 1976, Kasold served as a platoon leader and training officer in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery, stationed in Texas, Maryland, and Colorado.

 

Inspired by TV law shows like “Perry Mason,” Kasold attended the University of Florida Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and earned his J.D. in 1979. Between semesters, he worked at the Fort Rucker, Alabama, Army post as an assistant defense counsel in 1977, and as an assistant prosecutor in 1978.

 

The following year, Kasold joined the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, handling civil litigation cases until 1994. During that period, he earned an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1982, and an LL.M. equivalent from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in 1984.

 

Kasold lived in Augsburg, Germany, from 1984 to 1987, serving as legal counsel to the VII Corps Artillery Commanding General. Among his various responsibilities was counsel or co-counsel in about 50 courts-martial cases. In 1987 he joined the Army’s Office of General Counsel at the Pentagon as an assistant general counsel. He was subsequently recruited for a fellowship on Capitol Hill, splitting his time between the offices of then-Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) and Senator John Warner (R-Virginia).

 

In January 1994, Kasold joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Holland & Knight as a commercial and government contracts litigation attorney. From November 1995 to December 1998, he worked as chief counsel for the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and co-drafted the initial Senate resolution for the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton.

 

From 1998 to 2003 Kasold served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate’s secretary and its sergeant at arms. From 2000 until 2004, he served as president of the Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Beginning in 1989, he also served on the board of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, providing voluntary financial services to military and civilian personnel and their families.

 

Kasold and his wife Patricia have a son, Adam.