Prior to his appointment as a district judge by President Barack Obama, Judge Hanks served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge, a Justice on the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas and as the judge of the 157th District Court in Houston. In private practice, Judge Hanks was a shareholder in the law firm of Wickliff & Hall, P.C. where he specialized in commercial and medical malpractice litigation. He previously worked at the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP. Judge Hanks received his Bachelor of Arts in economics, summa cum laude from Louisiana State University. He attended Harvard Law School where he received the Legal Defense Fund/Earl Warren Scholarship and was an editor of the Harvard Blackletter Law Journal. Upon graduation, he served as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge Sim Lake. He later received his Master of Laws degree from Duke University School of Law. Judge Hanks is a member of the American Law Institute, American Board of Trial Advocates, and an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Judge Hanks is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Judicial Education Program at George Mason University.