Mary Joan McNamara has served as an Administrative Law Judge at the US International Trade Commission (USITC) for more than 11 years, beginning in August 2015. In September 2026, Judge McNamara will transition from her role as an Administrative Law Judge to private practice as an independent arbitrator, mediator and advisor specializing in complex, high-stakes, multi-national intellectual property, international trade and commercial disputes.

In her judicial role at the USITC, Judge McNamara has handled trade misappropriation (trade theft, patent infringement, occasional trademark) across a wide range of technologies, including Automobile manufacturing, Chemical composition, Computers and Telecommunications (hardware and software), Consumer electronics, LCD TVs and OLED screens, Integrated Circuits, and Aesthetic consumer products, among others. Judge McNamara has overseen cases that involve Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), and FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing.

Prior to her USITC appointment, Judge McNamara served 6 years as an Administrative Law Judge at the Social Security Administration.

Before her judicial service, in private practice, Judge McNamara tried or co-tried cases to judges and juries across a range of complex commercial disputes, including participating in class action proceedings (medical devices/pharma products), and environmental (CERCLA and RCRA) suits, civil RICO, contracts, and civil rights cases, among others.

Judge McNamara has held special appointments which include that of a Consultant to the U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs on a matter involving the Hague Convention. She served as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts (trials and appeals, including cases of first impression), and as a Conciliator in Lowell Superior Court, MA.

Judge McNamara holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago,

and a J.D. from Northeastern University. She studied in Vienna, Austria.