Judge Lance Walker (Jack Montgomery photo)

LEWISTON — A Maine judge who presided over district courts in Androscoggin and Oxford counties was tapped for the federal bench, Maine’s U.S. senators announced Tuesday.

Lance Walker, a Maine Superior Court justice, must be approved by the U.S. Senate before filling the vacancy left by Judge John A. Woodcock Jr., who nearly a year ago took senior status and moved his office from Bangor to Portland.

If confirmed, Walker would be appointed to the U.S. District Court bench in Bangor.

Walker was appointed to the Maine District Court bench, serving primarily in Androscoggin and Oxford counties. Before that, he worked for more than a dozen years in the Portland law firm Norman, Hanson & DeTroy as a trial and appellate attorney and a legal consultant specializing in complex litigation and insurance law. After six years there, he became a partner.

In 2015, he was appointed to the Maine Superior Court in Portland.

Walker, a native of Piscataquis County, was nominated to the federal court by President Donald Trump.

“During his nearly two decades of experience as both an attorney in private practice and as a judge in Maine’s judicial system, Justice Walker has demonstrated that he has the intelligence, temperament, and integrity required for this important position,” U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King were quoted in a written statement. “Justice Walker has made numerous contributions to Maine’s legal community and would serve our state well as a federal judge. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to confirm Justice Walker.”

Before serving as a judge, Walker tried cases to juries and judges across the state and in federal court. He has argued several appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. He was selected for recognition in respected peer-reviewed legal publications such as “Benchmark Litigation,” “Super Lawyers” and “Best Lawyers in America.” As a judge, he has spoken with recovering addicts and caregivers on the issue of opioid addiction and its intersection with the criminal justice system, according to a joint written statement from the offices of Collins and King.

Walker was born in Milo and raised in Dover-Foxcroft, where his parents owned and operated a hardware store and travel agency. His father was an engineer on the Canadian Pacific Railway in Brownville Junction. After graduating from Foxcroft Academy in 1990, Justice Walker attended the University of Maine, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, and the University of Maine School of Law, where he graduated with honors.