In 2010, Rader became Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit succeeding Chief Judge Paul Redmond Michel upon his retirement.[5] Along with his new administrative duties, he continued to speak at law schools and at international conferences.[6]
On May 23, 2014, Rader announced his resignation as Chief Judge effective May 30, 2014.[7] Rader remained a judge on the court, and Judge Sharon Prost succeeded him as Chief Judge.[8] On June 13, 2014, Rader announced his retirement from the court effective June 30, 2014.[8] Rader is on the Board of the International IP Commercialization Council (IIPCC.org), a global NPO NGO.[9]
Breach of an ethical obligation
Rader's resignation as Chief Judge and his announcement of retirement came in the wake of his admitted breach of an ethical obligation to not lend the prestige of the judicial office to advance the private interests of others.[10] Rader had sent a laudatory e-mail to a member of the bar of the Federal Circuit and asked that member to show that e-mail to other members of the Bar.[8] Rader also recused himself from a couple of cases he had presided over, due to the participation of the attorney in question.[11]
^PN950-100: Randall R. Rader, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United States Claims Court for the term of fifteen years vice Robert M. M. Seto, term expired.
^Bennett, Marion T. (1991). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History, 1982–1990. Washington, D.C.: United States Judicial Conference Committee on the Bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States. p. 149. LCCN91601231.
^Members of the Advisory Council to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, compilers (2004). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History, 1990–2002. Washington, D.C.: The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. p. 49. LCCN2004050209.