Torresen worked as a law clerk for then-District Judge Conrad K. Cyr of the United States District Court for the District of Maine from 1987 to 1988. Between the years 1988 to 1990, Torresen worked at the law firm of Williams & Connolly, where she was based in Washington, D.C. In 1990, Torresen joined the United States Attorney's Office in Maine, where she handled civil actions involving United States federal agencies. Between 1994 and 2001, Torresen worked for the appellate section of the criminal division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office, where she was responsible for representing the state of Maine in appeals of serious violent crime convictions. From 2001 until becoming a federal judge in 2011, she worked in the United States Attorney’s Office in Bangor and focused on investigating and prosecuting various federal crimes.[2][3]
Federal judicial service
Torresen was nominated to fill the seat of Judge D. Brock Hornby by President Barack Obama on March 2, 2011.[4] Torresen is the first woman to serve as a federal judge in Maine.[2] The United States Senate confirmed Torresen on October 3, 2011.[5][3] She received her judicial commission on October 4, 2011.[3] She became Chief Judge on January 6, 2015.[6] She ended her term as Chief Judge on December 31, 2018.[7] She will assume senior status on October 11, 2025.[8]
