A federal attorney who graduated from Kamehameha Schools and spent most of his legal career on the mainland before returning to Hawaii five years ago was nominated Wednesday by President Barack Obama as a U.S. district judge.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Assistant U.S. Attorney Derrick K. Watson would be the first federal judge with Hawaiian blood since U.S. District Judge Samuel King.

Watson has been with the U.S. attorney’s office here since 2007 and has been the head of its civil division since 2009.

He would be Hawaii’s fourth full-time judge and would fill the vacancy created when U.S. District Judge David Ezra became a senior federal judge in June.

Watson was among seven nominations to the federal district court bench announced by Obama.

Obama said the nominees have the "talent, expertise and fair-mindedness" for the positions and represent "my continued commitment to ensure that the judiciary resembles the nation it serves."

Watson was in Washington, D.C., and not available for comment.

The lifetime appointment carries a yearly salary of $174,000.

"He’ll be an excellent judge," said U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni. "It’s good for him, good for my office — he came out of my office — and good for the state of Hawaii. He’s very well qualified."

Watson was among three names that U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka forwarded to the White House from a judicial selection commission they set up to screen applicants.

"Derrick Kahala Watson is a strong selection to serve as a United States District Court judge for the District of Hawaii," Inouye said.

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who was elected this month to succeed Akaka, said Watson would be the only Native Hawaiian federal judge.

"It is important to see that qualified individuals from diverse communities are able to serve our nation in a variety of ways," she said.

King served as a senior federal judge until his death in 2010.

Paul Alston, president of the Hawaii chapter of the Federal Bar Association, called the nomination a "terrific choice."

"It is great to see a local boy with roots deep in the community make good," he said.

Alston said those who know Watson are highly complimentary and the only criticism he’s heard is that Watson just passed the Hawaii bar.

But Alston said passing the bar isn’t required for Watson’s job at the U.S. attorney’s office.

"I don’t view that as an impediment at all," he said.

Watson passed the July bar examination and will be a member of the bar once he pays his fees and gets sworn in, according to the Hawaii State Bar Association.

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association leaders also noted that Watson would be the only federal judge with Hawaiian blood.

"Mr. Watson’s nomination demonstrates the continued commitment of the president to diversify our judiciary," said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center.

A 1984 graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Watson attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

He worked for the San Francisco law firm of Landels, Ripley & Diamond from 1991 to 1995, served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California from 1995 to 2000, and worked at the San Francisco firm of Farella, Braun and Martel from 2000 to 2007.

He became a partner in 2003 at the Farella firm where he focused on product liability, toxic tort and environmental cost recovery cases, according to the White House.

The NAPABA said Watson was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and served as a captain in the JAG Corps from 1998 to 2006. Watson’s mother worked at a bank until she retired several years ago and his father retired from the Honolulu Police Department, according to the group.

The Hawaii Federal Judicial Selection Commission forwarded to the senators the names of Watson; Milton Yasunaga, a partner in the Honolulu law firm of Cades Schutte; and Andrew Winer, a Democratic strategist who advised Hirono’s campaign.

"We did submit the names of three outstanding jurists from which Mr. Watson was selected," Inouye spokesman Peter Boylan said.