Inner Architect is a Google Marketing Partner Agency dedicated to supporting law firm marketing efforts. To this end, as Marin County Bar Association (MCBA) members, we participate in events important to the legal community. Today, we had the distinct pleasure of attending the MCBA event: “U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick III: The Continuing Role of Justice in our Federal Court System.” Hearing Judge William H. Orrick III speak about today’s justice system, his time in Washington D.C. as a judge under the Obama administration, and his candid revelations about a life spent serving was insightful and timely.

Marin County Bar Association Guest Speaker Judge William H. Orrick III

Held at the beautiful Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael, Ca the guests included five judges, 40 attorneys and affiliate members. Hosting the luncheon was MCBA Executive Director Mee Mee Wong and Membership & Events Manager Kiersten Ross. In conversation with Thomas McInerney Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Judge Orrick spoke candidly about his experiences in Washington D.C. serving with the Obama administration and the differences between his civil law duties and other practices areas. Judge Orrick’s takes:

• Most Memorable Case: Judge Orrick described his experiences trying a RICO case in a San Francisco neighborhood, the Western Addition, where the lives of young children were molded by the helplessness surrounding them as they grew up into men. In a vivid example of the terrible circumstances these children faced was the story of a pair of 8 year old boys who were forced to fight each other in a dank basement as adults surrounded them betting on the outcome of the fight.
• Scrutiny Under Fire: asked by an audience member in reference to the vetting process appointees go through in order to work in Washington, Judge Orrick described the mountains of paperwork and questions required in the process. He related a story where he was asked what he was doing and where he resided during his summer break in one of his college years. His recounting of his whereabouts and activities  were painstakingly and thoroughly checked out and verified. The vetting process was extremely rigorous.
• Words of Wisdom: Judge Orrick’s self-description as a “complete optimist” matched his unbridled enthusiasm for the rule of law and his place in upholding justice one case at a time. When asked about his now deceased father, a Judge in the Kennedy administration, Orrick simply said “I loved my father very much.” What Judge Orrick learned from his father is there are good lawyers and there are bad lawyers. As he put it, “My father did not gladly suffer fools.”

The obligations of lawyers “go far deeper than earning a living as specialists in corporation or tax law. They have a continuing responsibility to uphold the fundamental principles of justice from which the law cannot depart.” –Robert Kennedy

What We Learned at the Marin County Bar Association

No matter what station in life an attorney reaches, there is always room for humble beginnings, self-deprecating humor, and a kind word for anyone willing to listen and participate. William H. Orrick III is all of that and someone who defies any stereotype of the pretentious aristocratic judge.

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