Tiffany Cunningham will be the first African American seated on the patent-focused Federal Circuit. Tiffany Cunningham WASHINGTON (CN) — The Senate confirmed Tiffany Cunningham to a seat on the Federal Circuit court Monday, by a 63-33 vote. She will be the first Black woman to serve on the patent-focused court. Cunningham’s legal career began at the U.S. Federal Circuit in 2001 where she clerked to then-judge Timothy Dyk. Cunningham also was a Kirkland & Ellis partner from 2007 until 2014, when she then became a partner at Perkins Coie. She is a member of the Perkins Coie’s firm’s 17-member Executive Committee on Patent Litigation and has received a well-qualified rating from the American Bar Association.