"The world steps aside for the person who knows where they're going." That was advice from US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna, speaking to the Hispanic Bar Association of DC this week at Wiley Rein.
Judge Reyna discussed his path to the bench, starting with a childhood in New Mexico, where his friends would play cowboys and Indians, and he'd chase them as a viking (with a homemade shield, spear and battle ax), inspired by the '58 movie with Kirk Douglas. He'd always known he wanted to be a lawyer, and in high school, would sit in on court cases and make appointments to speak with local lawyers.
Wiley Rein diversity committee chair Charles Lemley introduced the judge. A former Hispanic National Bar Association national president and last year's Judge Ricardo M. Urbina Lifetime Achievement Award winner from HBA-DC, Judge Reyna is the first speaker this year in the HBA-DC's "Evening With" event series.
When Judge Reyna first became interested in becoming a judge, he thought "This can't be a goal, this is a dream." You put the dream on the top shelf, he says, and start working on the lower shelves. In 2011, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. When it comes to advice for younger lawyers, he says, "There's nothing more important in our profession than our reputation."
Among those joining for the event were Wiley Rein special counsel and HBA-DC president-elect Edgar Class, HBA-DC president Juan Semptertegui, US District Judge Rudy Contreras, and Department of Agriculture lawyer Michael Martinez.
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