Katherine Leonard, a private attorney who specializes in civil litigation, was nominated by Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday to be a judge on the state Intermediate Court of Appeals.

Leonard is a partner at Carlsmith Ball LLP and has worked in commercial, trust and environmental law. Lingle chose Leonard after the state Senate rejected her first pick, O'ahu Circuit Judge Randal Lee. Leonard would replace Judge John S.W. Lim, who died in June.

The Senate is likely to return for another special session to hold confirmation hearings and a vote on Leonard's nomination. The Senate has 30 days to act or Leonard is automatically appointed.

Several senators had cited Lee's lack of civil experience as a factor in their decision not to confirm him. Lee is a former Honolulu deputy prosecutor who has spent two years as Circuit Court judge.

Leonard graduated from the University of Hawai'i law school and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She clerked in O'ahu Circuit Court and the state Supreme Court but has no judicial experience.