Judge Montecalvo was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in September 2022. Judge Montecalvo graduated from Swarthmore College in 1996 and earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 2000. She began her legal career as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where she litigated civil tax matters in the federal courts. Beginning in 2004, Judge Montecalvo started her public defender career as a trial attorney and litigated cases for nearly seven years in the Rhode Island trial courts. From 2010 to 2020, she served as an appellate attorney in the Rhode Island Public Defender’s Office and was the Chief of the Appellate Division from 2014 to 2020. Nominated by former Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo, Judge Montecalvo served as the Rhode Island Public Defender, from 2020 to 2022. Clerk's Office Telephone Number: (617) 748-9057.