As I embark upon the last few months of my presidency, I am truly grateful for the honor of serving, but I am also looking forward to passing the torch, knowing that new leadership will serve our organization well by both building on a strong existing foundation and bringing fresh ideas for expansion.
I cannot help but look back on 2025 and share with you some highlights of great leadership by judges and lawyers I had occasion to observe—examples we can all aspire to as we strive to uphold our core values of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence in the law.
I would like to begin by acknowledging my dear friend and colleague Judge Sandra Ikuta. She passed away on December 7, 2025, after a three-year battle with cancer. Her work ethic was legendary. She worked up until the very end, filing cases two days before her death.
Judge Ikuta was the poster child for civility in both her written and oral communications with colleagues. The Ninth Circuit is an incredibly diverse court of 29 active judges that often disagree jurisprudentially on cutting-edge legal issues. Sandra was brilliant, yet humble; she was firm in her judicial philosophy, but she never approached a case with an agenda. She truly had an open mind, was not influenced by any personal views she might have, and always landed where the law took her. When she disagreed with her colleagues, she always did so collegially. It was a mistake not to listen to Judge Ikuta because the Supreme Court often said that she got it right!
Because my view of Sandra is one that is universally held by my colleagues, I see her legacy of civility as proof that it is possible to disagree with others, remain true to our core values, and still respect one another at the end of the day.
I became further convinced of this conclusion when observing the compassion and collegiality that was shown to Sandra by my colleagues. In particular, Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia and Senior Judge N. Randy Smith stepped up to the plate in ways that encapsulated the core values of the American Inns of Court. They showed so much support and respect for Sandra, allowing her to serve the court capably until the end as she valiantly and courageously fought cancer. I saw from these judges the perfect example of how when you see people and judge people as human beings, and not by the differences in your opinions, you create an atmosphere of harmony and respect where all viewpoints can be heard in a civil society.
I also had the opportunity to attend a joint Inn event in San Diego on September 10, 2025, featuring a fireside chat between Chief Judge Murguia and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett of the Supreme Court of the United States. There were so many amazing facets to the conversation between these two women. The takeaway was a respectful conversation between judges that I am quite sure do not always agree. The audience was equally respectful as it listened with interest and asked appropriate questions. I was proud to be in the audience, and I was equally proud of the speakers and members of the audience that chose to listen to important viewpoints without taking offense by divergent perspectives.
What I have learned in my travels is that it takes courage for judges and lawyers to take part in programs and discussions where divergent views are presented. I am proud that the Inns can provide such a forum. I am also encouraged that as a profession we continue to take risks and participate in programs where the public can witness respectful conversations.
I want to close by highlighting a moot court competition that I participated in with Associate Justice Elena Kagan of the Supreme Court of the United States and Kannon K. Shanmugam, Esquire, former trustee of the American Inns of Court, past president of the Edward Coke Appellate American Inn of Court, and honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in London.
The September 2025 event was held at Pepperdine School of Law. We interacted with both students and faculty. The atmosphere was one of openness and respect; we all felt energized by the experience. My takeaway is that now, more than ever before, it is important that we participate in such events and model for others positive interactions where we can learn from each other while listening and respecting differing views. I applaud and thank Justice Kagan and Mr. Shanmugam for their participation and the example they set for law students and members of our profession.
In closing, I think Associate Justice Louis D. Brandeis got it right in his opinion in Whitney v. California when he said, “the remedy [to bad speech] is more speech, not enforced silence.” I encourage all of you to participate in the marketplace of ideas—not to hold back—and follow the many examples we have of judges and lawyers such as Judges Ikuta and Murguia, Justices Barrett and Kagan, and counsel Shanmugam—all of whom show courage in their core convictions but also show respect for differences in opinion.