Approach The Bench

On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, a Law360 podcast hosted by feature reporter Cara Bayles, U.S. District Judge James Robart of the Western District of Washington discusses his experience as the target of President Donald Trump's tweets, which has gained more relevance as threats against judges continue to rise. He also discussed his advice for other judges presiding over high-profile...

On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Elaine Kaplan discusses her career trajectory, trends in claims against the government, her pet peeves in court hearings and briefs, and whether she thinks criticisms of the court's vaccine program are fair.

On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas speaks about shepherding courts through hurricanes, a pandemic and a caseload crisis, and about how to improve proceedings, using Zoom and adjustments to the civil rules.

North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls still believes in the importance of informing the public about the judiciary, but these days she's a little more careful about what she says.  She's been subject to two misconduct investigations for speaking out about court policies to news outlets — including Law360 — during her five-year tenure on the bench. In an interview with Law360 last year,...

Judge Stephen Dillard uses every tool at his disposal to improve transparency at the Georgia Court of Appeals — from cameras in the courtroom, to explanatory law review articles, to posts on social media. On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, a Law360 podcast hosted by feature reporter Cara Bayles, Judge Stephen Dillard spoke about how he navigates social media as a jurist, why he educate...

On this month's episode of Approach The Bench, a Law360 podcast hosted by feature reporter Cara Bayles, Judge Douglas Nazarian of the Appellate Court of Maryland spoke about his work as an intermediate appellate court judge, how he tries to foster fairness and equity in the clerkship application process, and why working for judges prepares lawyers for their careers.

Arizona U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa has a long and storied career serving her state. She became the first Native American woman selected to the federal bench a decade ago, but before then she spent a decade in Arizona’s U.S. Attorneys office as a victim advocate, tribal liaison, senior litigator and then eventually the first Native American woman to serve as the top federal prosecutor. As a...

Throughout a decade-long career on the federal bench, Southern District of Florida Judge Robin Rosenberg has dedicated her time to improving the legal profession. When presiding over her first multidistrict litigation, Judge Rosenberg went through a lengthy process to ensure the plaintiff's leadership included a diverse array of lawyers — including young attorneys. She invented the “leadership dev...

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart not only the first Black woman to join the state supreme court back in 2018, but the first elected to any statewide office in Ohio. During the course of her 30 year legal career, she’s been a litigator, a law professor and an intermediate appellate court judge. She is also a classically trained pianist. But her latest role as the 2024 incumbent Democratic...