A View from the Bench

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa draw on their experience as both trial lawyers and judges to share their perspectives on what can help to win — or lose — a case at trial. In a lively exchange that includes substantial agreement as well as some notable differences of opinion, George and Gregg consider the relative importance of opening and closing arguments, ex...

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa, both former judges, are joined by the Hon. Paul Grimm, a former trial lawyer and judge in the U.S. District Court in Maryland who left the bench in 2022. Judge Grimm is now a professor of law and director of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School. He writes extensively and lectures on the topics of evidence and discove...

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa, both former judges, are joined by the Hon. Nancy Gertner, who in 1994 was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, where she served until retiring in 2011 to teach at Harvard Law School. Judge Gertner is the author of several books, including her autobiography, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of...

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa, both former judges, are joined by retired Judge Mark A. Drummond, a former trial lawyer who subsequently served as a judge for 20 years. Judge Drummond is now the program director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, where he trains lawyers on the most effective ways to present evidence to juries; he also serves as ju...

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa, both former federal judges, are joined by retired Judge Andre Davis, a former federal prosecutor, state judge, and federal judge who left the bench in 2017 to serve as Baltimore's City Solicitor for almost three years. Judge Davis describes how his experience as a trial judge – which he calls the "best job in America" – informe...

Washington, D.C. partner George Hazel and Houston partner Gregg Costa, both former federal judges, reflect on the similarities in their paths to the federal bench – both began practicing at law firms, became federal prosecutors, and were appointed judges at age 39 – and describe what it takes to be a successful trial lawyer and a successful law clerk.   They also discuss some interesting cases fro...