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    AJC Chair Message

    Throughout the United States, there are a little over a thousand intermediate appellate court judges and justices, approximately 330 justices (judges in New York and on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) on courts of last resort, and approximately 230 U.S. Circuit judges in active service. So even those of us in major metropolitan areas have limited opportunities to interact with our professional peers.

    All of the appellate courts on which we serve approach our work differently. So the opportunity to learn from our peers elsewhere is invaluable.

    The Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association is the only membership organization composed of and open to all American appellate judges. Our Appellate Summit, the Appellate Judges Education Institute, is held in November each year. It is the premier appellate continuing legal education program in the country. 

    We have already begun work on this year’s Summit, which will be held in Minneapolis on November 13-16. We will have panels on issues we encounter regularly, including standards of review, scientific evidence, amicus participation, and personal jurisdiction. Writing, which is a core competence for any lawyer, but especially for appellate judges and appellate lawyers, will be the subject of two panels—one on lessons to be learned from great legal writers, another on subtleties in the operation of certain familiar words. And we will have panels that take a wider view of the legal landscape, including a Supreme Court review, a debate about separation of powers and the merits of originalism, and a discussion of administrative law after the fall of Chevron.  

    The publications that come with your Appellate Judges Conference and Judicial Division membership are also valuable resources. Those include issues of the JD Record and the Judges’ Journal. Please also watch for announcements of Judicial Division webinars, as those often present an appellate perspective. And if you want to become more active in the Appellate Judges Conference, please contact me or another of our Executive Committee members.

    There are other opportunities to interact with members of other appellate courts.

    The only other membership organizations for state appellate judges are the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal and the Conference of Chief Justices. Both provide excellent programing and opportunities to interact with peers in other jurisdictions. But as their names suggest, they are open only to chiefs, though in the case of the Council of Chief Judges, rising chiefs and former chiefs are included.

    For appellate judges with no more than four years of experience, the New York University School of Law hosts a week-long New Appellate Judges Seminar. I attended it shortly after my election and found it invaluable.

    The National Judicial College, which partners with the Appellate Judges Conference in putting on the AJEI Summit, offers, among many other programs, Advanced Skills for Appellate Judges, Judicial Writing, and Advanced Judicial Writing.

    Duke Law School’s Bolch Judicial Institute offers a Master of Judicial Studies. Participants attend classes at Duke Law School over two summers for four weeks each year and write a publishable thesis. Judges accepted to the program receive a full-tuition scholarship.

    The Law & Economics Center at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School offers a Judicial Education Program. Its stated purpose is training “the nation’s judges and justices in economics, finance, accounting, statistics, and scientific methodology” in order to help “judges better understand the long-term implications of their decisions, thereby improving the development of the law and benefitting America’s free enterprise system.” The Center’s programs have no tuition. Hotel rooms and group meals are provided, and reasonable transportation costs are reimbursed.

    The National Foundation for Judicial Excellence holds an Annual Judicial Symposium. The Foundation’s mission includes addressing “important legal policy issues affecting the law and civil justice system by providing meaningful support and education to the judiciary.” This year’s symposium will cover several such issues. It will take place on July 11-12 at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile.

    The National Civil Justice Institute holds an annual judges’ forum. The Institute is “a national legal nonprofit created by pioneering members of the trial bar and dedicated to ensuring access to justice for ordinary citizens.” This year its topic will be “Judicial Interpretation and Precedent: The Vital Role of State Courts.” It will take place on July 19, 2025, in San Francisco.

    The NFJE is affiliated with the civil defense bar, and the NCJI is affiliated with the civil plaintiff’s bar. They generally cooperate to hold their events on successive weekends.

    Interaction with our appellate-court peers is valuable and rewarding, but it requires some effort. The Appellate Judges Conference and the Appellate Education Institute Summit are two excellent ways to gain that interaction, and you can supplement your participation in those through some of the other programs mentioned above.

    Hon. Christopher McFadden
    2024-2025 Chair, Appellate Judges Conference