Federal Judicial Center

The Federal Judicial Center maintains a website with lots of great information and free publications. It has a biographical database on all federal judges (past and present). For example, I was able to figure out that there have been 38 female chief judges who are still sitting on the bench. Search limitations (gender)(chief judges)(sitting judges only).

One indispensable free publication is the Manual of Complex Litigation (4th). Download it and velobind it if you are engaged in class action or multidistrict litigation.

The FJC's job is to train federal judges and federal court employees, but they've got a very rich website worth exploring.