- Willhite joined ADR Services Inc. on Feb. 1 last year, the day after he retired from the 2nd District Court of Appeal, where he wrote more than 2,000 opinions over his 18 years there on the bench. All told, Willhite's judicial career spanned more than three decades, including time as a Los Angeles County Municipal Court and Superior Court judge before his appointment to the appellate court in 2005 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Los Angeles appellate attorney Julian W. Poon used Willhite recently to resolve a multimillion-dollar franchise and contract dispute, and described the neutral as a very sharp mediator with a friendly, easy-going demeanor.
Law360 has You Want Judge Reyna To Have Coffee With Your Brief about an interview with Federal Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna.
- Without question, he said, the most important skill for litigators is the ability to write well.
- Judge Reyna said when he receives a poorly written brief, he's put in a bad spot of having to draw his own conclusions. "You put me in a position where I'm making up arguments for you," he said. "They're not my arguments. It's your case. But as soon as I start saying, 'Hmm, it looks like what they're trying to say here,' and then I come up with the answer, that's not right."
- One place where brief writers should focus their efforts is on the table of contents, he said. "Your table of contents should read like maybe a script for a movie would read — the snippets that take me through the entirety of the scene of the production," he told the room.
- Judge Reyna also said arguments should be presented through the lens of the standard of review — which he called "your winning ticket."
- The judge also stressed the importance of diversity, noting that he regularly chooses clerks outside Ivy League colleges and expressing frustration when more traditional attorneys don't always give others their due.
Posts
