To a Young Lawyer, On Becoming a Judge

1 36 Arizona Attorney u November 1999To a Young Lawyer, On Becoming a Judgeby Hon. Nicole R. LaurinBecoming a Judge changes your life nervously address you as Judge evenduring casual lunches. You are immediatelytreated as though you possess great wisdomwhich ironically went sadly unrecognized only a weekbefore you took the bench. And every one of your rela-tives feels the need to share even more lawyer jokes withyou at Christmas. Internally, Becoming a Judge challengesevery bit of your patience, compassion, courage and So how do I get there from here, as a Young law-yer?Instead of preparing to get selected, prepare yourselfto be a good Judge when the time comes. Too many focuson the selection process, the political connections theycan hobble together, or the number of bullets on theirresumes, which is like trying to prepare for a marathon byfilling out an application and buying nifty socks.

2 Thereare professional and personal qualities that will not onlymake you a stronger judicial candidate, but will inherentlymake you a better Judge . In the meantime, they may evenmake you a better lawyer in any court. As a Young law-yer, cultivate these qualities every single day, regardlessof what type of law you practice. Without further smalltalk (see infra, Efficiency ), here are a few of thesequalitites:RespectAretha Franklin spelled it best. Or, in modernpsychobabble, you only get the amount of respect you this point seems both preachy and obvious inprint, it too often is ignored in practice. I am constantlydumbfounded at the lack of basic respect and dignity law-yers display in court toward the court staff, opposingcounsel, the public, and even toward the bench.

3 The legalculture is Becoming too tolerant of abuses. Respect for thecourt goes much further than simply standing when thejudge enters. Personal attacks against opposing counsel,nastiness toward judicial assistants and court reportersand arguments that drone on long after the court s rulinghave become commonplace. In the courtroom, too manylawyers conduct disruptive conversations in the back ofthe courtroom while court is in session, unabashedlyjudge-shop, and make repetitive, frivolous objections. Thisbehavior doesn t advance justice, and it doesn t help ability to maintain (and display) patience, dig-nity, and courtesy under stress is being watched and notedevery time you appear in any court and will probably af-fect your strength as a judicial candidate. It is surely noaccident that most of the judges I know formerly prac-ticed law in the very court they now oversee.

4 Activelypractice respect and professionalism toward everyonewith whom you come into contact, and you will not onlyhave more to offer as a Judge , but, as an officer of the court,you will actually make the justice system work the way itwas intended to , like lawyers , generally are asked to handle farmore cases than they think they can handle. But unlikemost lawyers , most judges get just as many new cases allover again the very next day. While it is heady and reward-ing to take cases under advisement, do independent re-search, and write elegant opinions, there are simply notenough hours in the day to do this as often as most judgeswould like. judges have to think and speak on theirfeet. Usually, they must speak with fewer words if they areever to survive the morning a lawyer, remember your audience.

5 judges likemost clients, jurors and other humans on the planet donot want to read the same sentence three times just to lo-cate the verbs. They want (and need) straight talk. Theywant arguments that hit them between the eyes. Think ofwhat persuades you. Where would you like to see the point?Page 1? Or page 28 (footnote 7)? If you communicate effi-ciently, you ll be a better lawyer and a happier SkillsAs a former psychology major and current victim ofmodern American pop culture, I hate the term peopleskills, but no other title quite covers this topic. The dailyjob of a Judge is to listen to problems, emotions, demands,opinions. Then, after allowing everyone to have their say,November 1999 u Arizona Attorney 37judges must find a reasonable, practi-cal, legally appropriate, just, sociallyresponsible resolution that changeslives for the better all before thecourthouse closes for the day.

6 To dothis well, a Judge must understandpeople, or at least be able to ask theright questions on the spot. So, get outinto the community and work withas many different kinds of people people of different social strata, ages,cultures, careers in any way yourvarious skills allow. The variety oftheir problems and solutions, of theirnorms and expectations, of theirskills and concerns, will challengeyour mind far more than law schooldid, and reward you with an abilityto make better decisions about thosepeople s lives. And the lessons you lllearn about compassion, toleranceand patience won t hurt only real preparation for thebench is to be on it. Even the teenag-ers who preside over our local TeenCourt will tell you that.

7 Every courthas a list of pro tempore judges , whocontinue to practice law, and who arecalled into court on an as-needed ba-sis. If you are truly serious about be-ing a Judge someday, find out what ittakes to get on one of these lists in thecourt of your choice and, wheneveryour schedule allows, take on a fewcases. Over time, try to handle everytype of proceeding that occurs in thatcourt at least once a jury trial willgive you a very different judicial ex-perience than an injunction always counts, in anywalk of , as you begin your legalcareer, that whether you walk intocourt as a lawyer or Judge , you will al-ways be preceded by your reputationfor doing justice. Craft yours luck in whatever career path youchoose to follow. Be R. Laurin has been a municipalcourt Judge for the Town of Gilbert since1997.

8 Before her appointment, she workedas a Deputy Maricopa County Attorneyand Assistant Town Prosecutor in Gil-bert.