Magistrate Judge Nicholas A. Danella was appointed to the Northern District of Alabama on August 19, 2021, after 15 years of civil litigation experience. Prior to his appointment, Magistrate Judge Danella was a civil litigation partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham. While at Bradley, Judge Danella handled a wide variety of civil cases in both federal and state court. Judge Danella previously had worked as a civil litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York and Los Angeles. Judge Danella also served as pro bono counsel on a number of criminal cases.

In addition, Judge Danella served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jacqueline H. Nguyen on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Honorable Michael W. Fitzgerald on the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Judge Danella is an adjunct professor at The University of Alabama School of Law, where he teaches civil discovery.

Judge Danella also is a member of the American Law Institute. In practice, he was named to the Top 40 Under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal, the 40 & Under Hot List by Benchmark Litigation, and the Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars.

Judge Danella earned his Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he was an executive issue editor for the Notre Dame Law Review. He earned his Bachelor of Arts cum laude in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College.