Pictured, from left, are James McGuire, of Holwell Shuster Goldberg; David Saxe of Morrison Cohen and James Catterson of Arnold Porter are long time friends who routinely get together for breakfast. (Photo by David Handschuh/NYLJ)
Judges often need other colleagues as friends, not just as mere acquaintances; I have no doubt about that. The social isolation and the peculiar pressures of the judicial position informs this view. For the most part, trial judges work in separate courtrooms and except for perhaps lunch hours and certain evening bar association activities, they are cut off from each other. They work alone. They must also be wary of signs of friendship, flattery and flummery(1) from lawyers coming in and out of their courtroom as merely expression of self-interest.
Developing real friendships may be as difficult for judicial colleagues as it would be at any workplace venue perhaps even more so; judicial colleagues may find themselves competing with “friends” for better quarters and assignments and even advancement to prestigious appellate courts. The inevitability of these frictions may test any friendship.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
