Judge Lifland was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on February 29, 1988, to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, a seat vacated by Judge Clarkson Sherman Fisher. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 19, 1988 and received his commission on May 20, 1988. After 19 years of distinguished service, he retired from the federal judiciary on May 31, 2007. Thereafter he joined Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”) as a Neutral where he continues to the present, with particular concentration in patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret cases and most notably pharmaceutical and biotechnology cases. In 2002, Judge Lifland received the William J. Brennan Jr. Award from the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey. Judge Lifland was in private practice prior to becoming a federal judge. He received his B.A. from Yale University in 1954 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1957. He is a U.S. military service veteran, having served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1963.
Judge Lifland is the recipient of the 2019 A. Sherman Christensen Award. The award, given in the name of the founder of the first American Inn of Court, is bestowed upon a member of an American Inn of Court who, at the local, state, or national level has provided distinguished, exceptional and significant leadership to the American Inns of Court movement. Read the news release regarding Judge Lifland's recognition.