Appellate Legend Charles A. Bird has died. A past president of AAAL & CAAL, he was a brilliant, generous, and kind-hearted "gentleman and scholar" of the classic mold, a forceful and provocative advocate (both pragmatic and idealistic), whose appellate wisdom and impact will be missed throughout California and nationally. His forthcoming magnum opus, Advanced Topics in Appellate Practice is scheduled for publication later this year.
- American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow & Past President
- California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Member & Past President
- California Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, Past chair and commissioner
- Clerk for Hon. Robert Boochever, Supreme Court of Alaska, 1973-1974 (later Ninth Circuit judge)
- Held spots on many nonprofit boards, presidencies (Appellate Defenders and Federal Defenders of San Diego and Habeas Corpus Resource Center)
- California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, 2004-Appellate
- Distinguished service awards from at least seven bar and community service organizations
- San Diego Legal Professional of the Year (2002)
- UC Davis: BA (1969 highest honors) J.D. (1973 coif/Law Review/Moot Court)
- Sample Publications: Objective Analysis of Advocacy Preferences and Prevalent Mythologies in One California Appellate Court (2002) 4 J. Appellate Practice & Process 141; California Appellate Practice Handbook (4th ed. 1992, contributing author) (5th ed. 1995) (6th ed. 1998) (7th ed. 2001, contributing author and editor).
- Charlie was especially proud of his SCOTUS Amicus Curiae Brief of 36 Appellate Lawyers in Trump v. Hawaii.
[6/23 Update: the DJ's Obit is Charles A. Bird, 1947-2021: Skilled, influential attorney was 'institutional glue' at Dentons and appellate law groups.]
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